Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
by DayDream Jedi
Summary: I know it's been done before but... Novelization of the game with a twist and perhaps a few other tweaks as well. 4,000 years before A New Hope, the Jedi fight to save the galaxy from two of their own, the ruthless Sith Lords Darth Revan and Darth Malak.
1. Prologue: The Rise and Fall

Prologue: The Rise and Fall of Darth Revan

**From the journals of Jedi Master Dorak, Councilmember of the Dantooine Enclave and Chronicler**

_Revan was one of the best and brightest students the Jedi Order had seen in years, not since the War of Exar Kun. He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge, which I suppose should have been our first clue. But we were happy at the time to have such a promising young Jedi in our ranks after what we had suffered during the war. When he became a Padawan and was welcomed into the Order as a full-fledged member, he, and his best friend Malak, traveled to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to receive additional training under Jedi master Zhar Lestin. He too reported that there seemed to be a void in Revan that could not be filled by the teachings of the Jedi. It seemed that even though Revan had become a renowned Knight, he still felt that he was missing some purpose in his life. _

_ When the Mandalorians came, he must have saw that his time had finally come. Well do I remember the arguments he made when the Mandalorians attacked and pillaged the Outer Rim Worlds beyond the Republic. I recall his fury when they invaded the Republic itself and nothing the Republic military could do seemed to stop them. The Jedi High Council on Coruscant felt for some time that a great Darkness awaited us deep in the Outer Rim, and Revan became convinced that the Mandalorians were that threat. The Council did not agree with the wayward Knight, and long were the hours that Revan spent arguing with both the Council here on Dantooine and the High Council. I think that it was here that we first began to see the seeds of Revan's fall take root, though perhaps we were blind to them at the time. I suppose Revan must have thought that this was at last the calling that he had been searching for, the purpose that he felt had been lacking from his life. Finally when the Mandalorians invaded and burned his own home world of Deralia, on the border between the Outer and Mid Rims, Revan had enough._

_ Announcing that he was going to join the Army of the Republic against the Council's wishes he made one final appearance before the Council here. Masters Zhar, Vandar, and myself pleaded with him to reconsider, that he was being rash and that the cost of participating in a war such as this could have dire, unforeseen consequences. At the end master Vrook stood up and pronounced that Revan may do as he wished but to know that he and any who followed him were going straight to the Dark Side in their foolish quest. Insulted, he stormed out of the Council chambers and that was the last any of us would see of Revan for a long time._

_ Revan quickly became the most famous of the Republic's Generals, clearing out worlds such as Taris of the Mandalorians. He was an amazing strategist, and slowly the war began to turn in our favor. However, the strain on Revan, Malak and the other Knights who followed them began to show. Revan's tactics gradually became more ruthless, cold-hearted, and calculating as the war dragged on. One of the few Knights that still reported to the Council noticed that unsettling changes had come over Revan and Malak, that they were becoming distanced from those around them. _

_ Finally the end of the war came. As the last of the Mandalorian ships surrendered over Malachor V, there was a storm of celebrations within the Republic. Even we Jedi Masters were pleased, as we hoped that now, maybe, Revan would return to us. But that was not to be. Without warning, he, Malak and the others took a third of the fleet and disappeared into the depths of space. They said that they were searching for the last remnants of Mandalore's fleet, but then all contact was lost. For months it was assumed that some great disaster had befallen their fleet. There were, during this time, scattered reports that Revan and Malak had been seen on a number of worlds around the Republic but these were never confirmed. We had begun to mourn for our lost brothers and sisters when they finally returned to us. And it was not in a manner that we expected. At all._

_ Even during the Mandalorian Wars there had been rumors that the Sith were rebuilding after Exar Kun, but the reports from both Republic Intelligence and our own Knights suggested that it would be at least ten years before the Sith could have the military power to attack the Republic. And only a few months after the Mandalorian War had ended, the Destruction of Telos occurred. Revan and Malak had finally returned, but now they were Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, and Darth Malak, apprentice and right hand. The heroes of the Republic had become brutal, conquering Sith. _

_Revan's forces began sweeping across the Outer Rim, which was still weak and lightly defended after the Mandalorian War. The Dark Lord also began sending out teams of Dark Jedi and Sith Masters to assassinate our Jedi brethren. The times are dark indeed, as the Jedi Order is once again brought to the brink. But there is a ray of hope. A young Jedi Padawan named Bastila Shan was discovered, shortly before the Mandalorian War ended, to posses the gift of Battle Meditation. With this gift, the Jedi Council knew that she would be a great asset to the Republic, and at grave risk of falling to the Dark Side. She is young and headstrong and proud, but she is also one of the best students we have trained since Revan and Malak. Even now she is on her way with a task force of Jedi Knights to attempt to capture Darth Revan himself. Hopefully if we can capture Revan alive we can find out where the Sith obtained their strange and seemingly limitless armada… and if it can be stopped._

**A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far, Far Away…**

**STAR**

**WARS**

**Knights of the Old Republic**

**Episode I**

**4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH REVAN and DARTH MALAK, the new Dark Lords of the Sith have unleashed an invincible armada on an unsuspecting galaxy.**

**Crushing all resistance, Revan's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered, as countless Knights fall in battle and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Masters.**

**In order to combat the Sith the Jedi High Council has sent BASTILA SHAN, a prodigy of the rare Jedi talent of Battle Meditation, and a team of Jedi Knights to set a trap for the Dark Lords. Unless they are stopped, they will snuff out the flame of peace and freedom in the galaxy…**

Darth Revan, Dark Lord of the Sith, stared out through the _Titan's_ forward view ports and fumed. His war had been going so smoothly and easily. The weakened Republic had stood no chance of offering any serious resistance so soon after the Mandalorian Wars. But then that had begun to change. The Republic fleets began winning battles, battles that should have been impossible to win, but as Revan had learned long ago that nothing was impossible when it came to the Force. So the Republic had begun to fight back and Revan sent out his spies and found out who was responsible. A young Jedi Padawan called Bastila Shan. Revan vaguely recalled having seen Bastila at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, but she had only been a little girl then. _And she's here now, _Revan thought too himself, _and it's true what my spies reported. She has mastered the art of Battle Meditation, and she is only a Padawan! If she could be turned she would be the key to the destruction of the Republic…_

Revan's thoughts were interrupted as alarms sounded on the bridge. Captain Allston, Master of the _Titan _turned to him.

"Lord Revan the small craft we captured before the battle seems to have a crew after all. A crew hidden in shielded compartments."

"Who is aboard?" asked the Dark Lord, his voice muffled by the mask he wore which made his voice unrecognizable as male or female unless one knew who was beneath the mask.

"A mixture of Army Commandos and Jedi Knights my Lord. And Bastila is with them."

Revan gave an imperceptible nod and the Honor Guard of Sith Dark Jedi moved to guard the door to her bridge.

"This will work to my advantage Captain. I will either have the young Bastila as my servant, or she shall be destroyed by the power of the Dark Side. Inform the _Leviathan_ and my apprentice to continue the attack. Wipe the Republic fleet out. I will deal with our guests."

"Yes My Lord."

Darth Malak, apprentice to Darth Revan stood on the bridge of the _Leviathan _and looked out the view port the clash of Republic and Sith ships. This battle had begun when the two Sith Flagships had intercepted a Jedi transport. It had been taken aboard the _Titan_ and had apparently been empty. As soon as they had taken it aboard, a Republic fleet came out of hyperspace and ambushed them. Now it turned out the transport had indeed been manned. Admiral Karath had just informed him of Revan's orders, but he had not yet carried them out. He stared at the _Titan_ as it engaged three Republic capital ships simultaneously. He ran his large hand of the metal prosthesis that covered his entire lower jaw and ears. He remembered well when he had received the prosthetic. It had been during that final battle above Malachor V. A mandalorian guarding his leader Mandalore had gotten a hold of a lightsaber. Malak had underestimated the warrior and had had his jaw removed for his foolishness. He had begun to truly hate the mandalorians then, which had only quickened his descent to the Dark Side. Now he stared at his Master's ship and contemplated betrayal.

_You were the one who taught me the only the strongest of we Sith must rule Revan. You know that I will challenge you for supremacy… but to attack now while he is occupied with the Battle Meditation brat? When Sith have always faced each other in single combat, Master versus Apprentice? What should I do? _The former Jedi continued to stare out at his Master's ship, and then quietly came to a decision. _Goodbye Revan. You were a good friend and a good Master. But only the strongest and most cunning can rule the Sith. Goodbye. _And he ordered the _Leviathan_ and the other ships under his command to target the _Titan_.

Bastila was tired, sweaty, and ached all over, but her job wasn't done yet. They had managed to board the _Titan_ and were finally only a few feet away from the blast door to the bridge. She could feel the vortex of darkness that was Revan just ahead and knew that her time to face the Dark Lord had come. When she and her comrades had started their mad dash towards the bridge, there had been two-dozen of them, a dozen Jedi, ranging from padawans to Masters, and a dozen crack Republic Commandos. Now only three other Jedi and four commandos accompanied her. The elite Sith troops and Sith Masters and Dark Jedi aboard had waged a fierce battle against the strike team, but the Jedi had prevailed.

Reaching the blast door, the Jedi plunged yellow, green, purple, and blue lightsabers into it and quickly created a hole. The commandos tossed in a couple of thermal detonators and charged onto the bridge on the heel of the deadly explosions, blaster rifles blazing. The Jedi followed and were met by four crimson lightsaber blades being wielded by four hooded and half-masked Dark Jedi.

"The Force fights with us!" cried Bastila as she charged one of the Dark Jedi. She could see the Dark Lord standing at the apex of the bridge and she would be damned if she had come all this way to capture Revan, to fail now. The battle was joined and no quarter was given.

As the Jedi battled their Sith counterparts, the Commandos started firing on the guards and the bridge officers. In the confusion no one noticed that the _Leviathan_ was moving into position to attack. The Sith Masters were well trained, charged with the defense of their Dark Lord. But the Jedi were not about to back down, so close to their objective. Sabers clashed and the opponents twisted, juked, and flipped around each other in a dazzling display. Bastila was in the middle of it, dueling fiercely with her opponent. She moved with a fluid grace and her lightsaber swung in a constant arc as she blocked and parried. Finally she saw an opening and took it. Slashing her saber across the Sith's wrist caused him to drop his saber. Bastila drew back her yellow blade and struck. With a dull thud, the corpse of the Sith collapsed to the deck. Bastila looked up and saw the Dark Lady standing before her only a few feet away, choking the life out of one of the red and yellow-clad Commandos. The young padawan was dismayed to see that the all of the Commandos had died fighting and it was only the Jedi left now. With a gesture, Revan tossed the now dead Republic soldier aside and faced her opponent. With a _snap-hiss _his red lightsaber ignited while tendrils of electricity arced and curled around his free hand. Bastila swallowed her fear as she approached the Sith Lord.

"You cannot win Revan!" she boldly claimed, raising her lightsaber. The other three Jedi rushed forward, having dispatched their own opponents. Revan snorted and flourished his lightsaber, ready for the attack.

"If you truly think that you four Jedi can beat me, then by all means," said Revan as the dark side filled the bridge like a chocking pall, "come and get me now girl."

Bastila was just about to charge at the Sith Lord when the Force warned her to jump back, not forward. It was well that she heeded the Force for at that very moment, the world exploded.

Revan had welcomed the chance to face Bastila in combat. He knew that the young Jedi could be a powerful ally in his war against the decrepit Republic. He would've struck fast, eliminating the other Jedi and then confronted Bastila, and tried to turn her or destroy her if that didn't work. But that plan, that wonderful plan was interrupted as he was betrayed from afar. He felt the warning through the Force a split second before it happened. And he knew exactly what had happened as well. Malak had betrayed him, taking his opportunity to seize the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith. And the cowardly scum had not even tried to face him in combat! The turbolaser blast struck just below the bridge and Revan's world went white, then black. As the darkness began to close around, Darth Revan's last conscious thoughts were, _I cannot die like this! _And he was right. He wouldn't die. At least not completely.

Bastila shook her head to clear out the dizziness and cloudiness that had enveloped her when the bridge had been hit. She looked across the smoking, ruined bridge as her vision came back into focus. She probably only had limited time before whoever had fired on the _Titan_ did so again. What Bastila saw wasn't good. Her Jedi companion had been killed in the blast and… and so had Revan! Bastila scrambled over to the apparent corpse of the Sith Lord. Stretching out with the Force, Bastila was shocked to discover that Revan was not dead. There still burned a flicker of life in the man. The ship began to rumble from more turbolaser blasts. Thoughts began to conflict within Bastila's mind. She had been sent here to capture the Dark Lord, but now he was all but dead. Life still burned within his body, but Bastila could not sense Revan's mind. Bastila glanced at her lightsaber. With one stroke she would be forever hailed as the vanquisher of Revan, a hero to the entire Republic. She shook her head again to clear it of those images; they were of the dark side and not worthy of a Jedi. Bastila would fulfill her duty and bring whatever remained of Revan back. Letting the Force flow through her, Bastila then began to let it flow into Revan's broken body. She began using her own life force to sustain the Dark Lord. Suddenly she was assaulted by a swirl of images, memories from Revan. Overwhelmed Bastila collapsed backward onto the deck, as the ship jolted violently. From behind her the entrance to the bridge groaned open and a pair of Jedi rushed in. The older of the pair immediately knelt by Bastila and propped her head up. Her eyes fluttered open and she struggled to speak through wheezing breaths.

"Get Revan and I back to the ship Master Jinn," she panted, cold sweat trickling down her face, "Revan… we can still save him…" Bastila lost consciousness. Jedi Master Quan-Chi Jinn didn't have time to debate as Bastila had over whether the Dark Lord of the Sith could or should be saved.

"Padawan, take Bastila here. Let's get off this ship before it is destroyed, And us along with it," commanded the older Jedi. As his padawan scooped up Bastila, Master Jinn lifted the still form of Revan and was shocked to find himself staring into the face of a handsome young man, eyes half-closed, who looked to be only in his late twenties. Bastila must've removed the mask, but Master Jinn had no time to worry about that now. They raced out of the bridge as deep, sub-sonic booms from within the ship told them that she was starting to explode.

"No time to get to the ship! Into this escape pod!" cried out Master Jinn. The two Jedi stuffed their companions inside and then climbed in themselves. Jinn's padawan barely had time to hit the eject button before the _Titan_ began to consume itself in a raging fireball. As the lone escape pod shot towards the retreating Republic fleet, the once grand flagship of the Sith fleet blew itself out of existence. Onboard the escape pod; even though she was unconscious, Bastila was still getting intermittent flashes from Revan. A bond had been forged between them, and only time would tell what that would mean for the galaxy…


	2. Chapter 1: Attack on the Endar Spire

**Chapter 1: Attack on the **_**Endar Spire**_

The space near the newly conquered Sith world of Taris lit up with flashes of red and green light as squadrons of Sith starfighters dive-bombed the Republic cruiser _Endar Spire. _Sith capital ships stayed at a distance and fired occasional shots into the damaged ship, but the fighters were doing the grunt work now. With a noiseless fireball the port engines on the Spire flamed out leaving the ship dead in space. As it began to drift, a series of landing craft darted in under the anti-ship laser batteries, escorted by a squadron of fighters and approached the ailing cruiser.

On board the _Spire_, in one of the crew quarters, Matthias Starseeker was thrown from his bed as the ship lurched hard to starboard. The young man, dressed in nothing but his underwear stood up, rubbing a bruise on the back of his head and looked out the window. Matthias was a very handsome young man in his late twenties, with brown hair. He had high cheekbones, and green eyes.

"Sithspawn, this is what I get for being able to sleep through anything," he groaned. He was just about to get his clothes out of his footlocker, when the door to his quarters opened and in rushed a bright-faced young Republic soldier. He was a bit taller than him and had blond hair as opposed to his own darker locks.

"We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire's under attack! Hurry, we have to find Bastila!" Matthias regarded the unknown soldier a little warily.

"Hang on, who are you again?"

"I'm Trask Ulgo, your bunkmate remember?" he replied, "Now hurry up! We have to get to the bridge and defend Bastila! I've heard all about you; elite combat training, tops in your class. It's no wonder you were hand-picked for this assignment."

Matthias half-smiled to himself as he thought about that. Bastila herself HAD picked him for this mission. He often wondered why, out of the hundreds of thousands of grunts in the Army of the Republic had Bastila chosen him. Matthias's initial impression of the Jedi when they'd first met had been of a cold, haughty demeanor that didn't quite go with what he had seen of other Jedi.

"Bastila's gonna need men like you at her side during the attack. So let's go!"

Nodding, Matthias ran over to his footlocker and quickly grabbed his combat suit, blaster rifle, vibroblade, and medpacs. Slipping the suit on with the ease of a veteran soldier, he checked that the rifle's gas cartridge was full and then turned to face Trask.

"Let's do it."

They had just run into the main corridor when their comlinks activated.

"This is Carth Onasi. The Sith are threatening to overrun our position, we can't hold out against their firepower. All hands to the bridge!"

"That was Commander Onasi on our portable communicators. He's one of the best pilots and soldiers in the fleet. If he says things are bad, you better believe it!" said Trask as he jacked open a jammed door. Matthias recalled the gruff pilot from when he'd boarded the Endar Spire. They had just stepped through the door that Trask had managed to lever open just in time to see a lone Republic soldier in his red and yellow combat armor get shot by two Sith in their silver armor with faceless helmets designed to inspire fear in their enemies.

"These Sith must be the advance boarding party! For the Republic!" cried Trask as the two soldiers charged down the Sith troopers. Matthias had a funny feeling that it was going to be a very long walk to the bridge.

Matthias and Trask had almost reached the bridge when they ran trough another door and almost into a Jedi and a Sith dueling in the corridor. The red and blue lightsabers flashed as the two combatants smashed them together.

"It's a dark Jedi! We'd better stay out of this, we'd only get in the way," said Trask. Even though most of the _Endar Spire's_ crewmen had been outfitted with special vibroblades with a Cortosis ore weave, no ordinary soldier was fool enough to duel with a dark Jedi. With a deft slash, the blue saber-wielding Jedi cut the Sith down, but almost as soon as he'd collapsed to the floor, a plasma conduit behind the Jedi woman exploded.

"That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila. Damn, we could've used her help," groaned Trask as some more Sith troopers rounded the corner. They managed to kill the troopers before they could get any shots off but just as Trask turned to go, Matthias bent down to examine the body of the Jedi woman.

"Hey Trask, wait a minute, she's still alive!"

"Well give her some kolto and lets go," he replied, keeping a wary eye out for any ambushing Sith.

"No way. A manly man like me can't leave a woman behind, even a Jedi," said Matthias with a sarcastic grin. He picked up the unconscious woman and carefully arranged her in a fireman's carry over his shoulder.

After a couple more minutes of fast and furious fighting, Trask and Matthias finally arrived at the doors to the bridge. They both drew their vibroblades, as both soldiers knew that it would be suicide to use blasters in such a close-quarters environment. Matthias carefully rested his unconscious passenger against the wall just as Trask opened the bridge doors. There was already a furious battle on the bridge. Two Sith troopers noticed Matthias and Trask right away and charged them. Matthias lunged forward and with two graceful, almost careless moves, cut down both Sith. He then turned around, jumped into the air, spun, and came down on another trooper, cleaving him almost in two. Trask whistled and cast an eye around the now silent bridge.

"Bastila's not here. They must've already run to the escape pods," said Trask. Matthias looked one of the large bridge view ports and saw a pair of Sith destroyers moving closer to the _Endar Spire_.

"The Sith want Bastila alive so once she's off the ship there's nothing to stop them from blasting the _Spire_ into galactic dust. Let's get to those escape pods," said Matthias as they opened the door leading to the starboard side of the ship. Matthias retrieved their Jedi passenger and they were about to board the turbolift down to the escape pod level when the door across from them opened. Another dark Jedi stood in the doorway, but he was different from the others they'd seen, He wore all black armor, expensive-looking too. He was bald and had a goatee on his face along with an evil-looking, amused smile. A red, double-ended lightsaber flared to life in his hand, and he spun several times as he began to march towards them.

"Damn, another dark Jedi! I'll hold him off, get to those escape pods! GO!" shouted Trask as he charged the dark Jedi.

"No Trask you fool! You don't stand a chance!" cried Matthias but he was too late. A series of explosions forced the door shut, and that was the last Matthias Starseeker saw of Ensign Trask Ulgo. For a moment he stood in the hallway, frozen with shock, but then a red blade stabbed through the door and snapped him out of it. He jumped into the turbolift and punched the button. As he car descended, he punched the wall angrily.

* * *

As Matthias stepped out of the turbolift, his comlink activated again.

"This is Carth Onasi. I'm tracking you through the _Endar Spire's_ life support systems. Bastila's escape pod is away. We're the last remaining crewmembers aboard the Endar Spire, so we'd better get off the ship. Now!"

"Thanks for telling me how to get to the nearest escape pod Commander," mumbled Matthias as he shot another trooper. However he had studied the plans of these types of ships and was reasonably sure of where he was going. Getting there was going to be the trick, especially with his unconscious female cargo weighing his shoulders down. At last he reached the final compartment that separated him from the escape pods, when Carth's voice blared from her communicator again.

"Watch it! There's a whole squad of Sith troopers beyond that door!"

"Really?" asked Matthias as he picked up a thermal detonator from the corpse of a Sith, "Shouldn't be a problem." After putting down the Jedi woman yet again, he stepped to the side of the door, opened it and tossed in the bomb. One thunderous explosion later, he stepped into the anteroom which was now just a blackened, smoking ruin filled with blackened, smoking Sith corpses. Daintily picking his way among the dead troopers, he spied the red uniform of a commander. Knowing that the COs almost always had some nifty gadgets on them, Matthias stopped to examine the ex-Commander and found what looked like a prototype vibroblade.

"Won't be needing this anymore my friend. Might as well put it to good use," he said. Opening the door, he found Commander Carth Onasi waiting for him next to the row of escape pods.

"You made it! This is the last functional escape pod left, so lets get in and go… wait who is that?" he asked when he saw the woman draped over Matthias' shoulders.

"Well this young lady needed a lift so I thought I'd oblige. Now let's get out of here!"

Not needing to argue the point, Carth climbed in with Matthias and their Jedi passenger.

The last of the _Endar Spire's_ escape pods shot away from the dying ship fast enough to avoid being shot by the Sith ships. From the tiny cockpit, Carth and Matthias watched the ship in its death throes.

"That's funny, the damage doesn't look as bad from…" Carth started to say but was cut off as the _Endar Spire_ exploded in a nova-bright blast. The escape pod continued to hurtle down towards Taris.


	3. Chapter 2: The Upper City

_A/N: Bold text in this story will most usually indicate aliens speaking in their native language that is being translated by the "Invisible Universal Translator."_

* * *

**Chapter II: The Upper City**

Matthias dreamed. And his dreams were strange indeed. In his dream he saw a female Jedi on the bridge of what seemed to be a Sith ship. The Jedi wasn't dressed in the standard robes of the Order, but in a form fitting unisuit, with an ornamental tabard on the front. She held a blazing yellow lightsaber and was dueling fiercely with a dark Jedi, dressed in gray and black. Slashing her saber across the Sith's wrist caused him to drop his weapon. The Jedi drew back her yellow blade and struck. With a dull thud, the corpse of the Sith collapsed to the deck.

* * *

Matthias awoke to find himself lying on a bed in some sort of apartment room. He sat up, stretched for a moment, and then stood as fast as his aching muscles would allow.

"Good to see you up instead of thrashing around in your sleep. That must've been a hell of a nightmare,' said a voice from behind. Matthias turned around to see a man and a woman seated at a table in the middle of the room. One of them, the one with the leather jacket, he vaguely recognized, the other was a Jedi but he didn't recognize her at first. Seeing that he wasn't responding Leather Jacket decided to keep talking.

"I'm Carth. I was with you when we jumped in that escape pod. Do you remember?"

"Carth, the one from the _Endar Spire_, right. What happened after we ejected?"

"Well when we came down, you got a nasty crack on the head. Our Jedi friend was still out cold so I had to drag both of you out of there and make a break for it. By the time the Sith showed up we were long gone."

"Commander Onasi tells me I have you to thank for getting me into the escape pod in the first place. My name is Anaiya Brightstar, thank you for saving my life," she said, bowing her head towards Matthias.

Matthias studied Anaiya Brightstar carefully. Anaiya was dressed in typical brown and white Jedi robes, now scorched and torn by the fighting on the _Spire_ and the plasma conduit. She had black hair than was pulled into a ponytail. Matthias couldn't help but notice that there was something about her face that seemed strangely familiar.

"The pleasure was all mine miss Jedi. And thanks for getting us the rest of the way Carth."

"No thanks are necessary. I've never left a man behind before and I wasn't about to start now," replied Carth demurely.

"Right. So where are we anyway?" asked Matthias.

"We're in an abandoned apartment on the surface of Taris. You've been unconscious for a couple of days now. While you were out, Anaiya and I did some scouting around. As you know we crash-landed on the planet of Taris. Taris is a Sith world. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they've replaced the local government, declared martial law, and imposed a planet wide quarantine, but I've been in worse spots," said Carth.

"Have you now? Well so have I and I can tell you now that getting off this world won't be a piece of cake," replied Anaiya, which earned her an annoyed stare from Carth.

"As I was saying, the Upper City is where the elite of the planet lives and is pretty safe at least for us. However the farther you go down, the worse it gets. The Lower City is filled with swoop gangs that are in the middle of a bloody war for control and the Undercity is even worse. The Undercity is home to mutant creatures called rakghouls. All in all not a very pretty picture. Now I heard some reports of Republic escape pods going down in the Undercity. I figure that's probably the best place to start looking for Bastila."

"How can we even be sure that Jedi Bastila is still alive?" asked Matthias.

"We can't be sure. But, for the sake of the Republic war effort we have to try and find her," replied Carth.

"Not to sound too much like a pessimist, but given the odds of finding Bastila alive, shouldn't we worry more about getting off the planet and getting back into the fight?" said Matthias.

"That smack to your head must have done more damage than we thought soldier boy," said Anaiya with a sardonic grin, "Bastila is the key to the Republic war effort. She's a fellow Jedi and her skill at Battle Meditation has kept the Sith from total victory, that's why Malak wants her so bad, either to turn to the dark side or destroy her."

"Well then, let's go rescue us a Key," grinned Matthias.

"Well we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. First we need to find Bastila," said Carth, "Now the Sith have got patrols everywhere, but I figure as long as we don't do anything stupid we should be ok. I've heard some grim stories about the Dark Jedi interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a person. It can wipe your mind and strip away your very identity. But they're looking for Bastila, not a couple of grunts like us. All right soldiers lets move out," said Carth.

Anaiya smiled ruefully at being told to 'move out.'

"Would you boys mind if I changed first? These robes announce pretty loudly that I'm a Jedi."

"Oh, sure," said Carth, "I think I saw some clothes in a closet back in the bedroom."

Anaiya left and came back a few minutes later dressed in a long-sleeve tan shirt, a navy vest and black pants with two thin, yellow stripes going down the sides. She also wore a pair of fingerless leather gloves. All in all, Matthias thought the ensemble did her a bit better than her robes.

"By the way Matthias, did you manage to pick up my lightsaber? I'd like it back." Matthias froze.

"I, er… that is to say…"

"You don't have my lightsaber?"

"Well I was… I was so busy trying to get you out of there in one piece and watching my own back that I just didn't think about it. Sorry." Anaiya just stared at him for a few seconds and then turned and headed for the door. Just barely, Carth and Matthias heard her say something like, "I liked that lightsaber," in a low, hurt voice. Carth patted Matthias on the shoulder and grinned at him.

"Word of advice? Ladies don't like it when you lose their things."

* * *

Outside in the hallway of the building, the trio ran into trouble immediately. A Sith soldier and two war droids were in the hallway with their backs to the three soldiers.

"All right you alien scum! Up against the wall! This is a raid!" bellowed the Sith.

"Oh great this is the last thing we needed," groaned Carth. One of a pair of Duros aliens standing next to the Sith spoke up.

"**Why do you Sith insist on bothering us? You've been here before and found nothing. Why don't you just let us be?" **The Sith promptly shot the poor Duros between the eyes with his rifle.

"That's how we Sith deal with smart-mouth aliens," sneered the officer, "Now the rest of you up against the walls before I lose my temper again!" he bellowed. The Sith officer promptly turned around to make sure his orders were being obeyed and saw Carth, Matthias, and Anaiya.

"What? Humans hiding out with aliens? They're Republic fugitives! Attack!"

"Well we're off to a great start at keeping a low profile aren't we?' remarked Anaiya.

As the droids raised their rifles, Carth and Matthias drew their weapons with a speed that only came from training and experience. A volley of blaster bolts cut the two droids down. The officer looked like he was about to say something when a blaster shot from behind blew through his chest, It was the companion of the Duros the officer had slain, who held a smoking blaster pistol.

"**Poor Ixgil. He should never have talked back to that Sith," **remarked the Duros, **"Don't worry, I will move the bodies so it will look like they were killed elsewhere. I would have been dead if you had not stepped in when you had."**

"Won't you be running a risk doing that?" asked Matthias concernedly.

"**Consider this a repayment," **the Duros replied.

* * *

Having acquired a blaster pistol from the dead Sith officer for Anaiya, the three allies stepped out onto the streets of Taris amidst a frenzy of activity. Gaudily clad Tarisians moved about on their business while silver-clad Sith troopers marched precisely down the streets. A large group of Sith had congregated by the downed escape pod that had brought Carth and Matthias to Taris. All around them, the skyscrapers of Taris rose into the horizon like glittering teeth.

"This way," said Anaiya, "The Upper City Cantina should be a good place to start." They made their way across the street without much incident. There was a tense moment when a pair of Sith troopers marched right past them and one of them turned its helmet to look at the trio, but said nothing and continued on.

Passing by a shop that had a sign that said 'Kebla Yurt's Equipment Emporium' Matthias couldn't shake the feeling that something was bothering him. No… not him but… someone else. He turned around and saw that Carth was trailing Anaiya and him and seemed to have a look on his face that suggested he had something on his mind.

"Hey Carth?"

"Yes? What's on your mind?" Matthias decided that it might be a good idea to ask about Carth to get him more comfortable.

"I'd like to know a bit more about you, seeing as how we'll be working together in the future."

"About me? Well there's not much to tell really. I've been a starpilot for the Republic for more years than I can count. I served in the Mandalorian Wars before all this started. But with all that, I've never seen anything like what these Sith animals can unleash. My home world, Telos, was one of the first to fall to Malak's fleet. The Sith bombed it into submission ad there wasn't a damn thing that our Republic forces could do to stop them!"

"You're talking like it's your fault," said Matthias.

"It shouldn't be my fault. I'm just a soldier, I go where the fleet admirals tell me and I do my duty," said Carth, his voice rising, "I just wish that doing that didn't mean I failed them. I didn't!"

"Them? You mean the people of Telos?" said Matthias.

"No… yes, I mean… I'm sorry I must not be making much sense. I'm not accustomed to talking about my past. At all actually." Carth looked like he was about to say more, but stopped.

"They'll be time for more questions later, right now let's get on with what we were doing." Matthias closed his mouth, but silently vowed to pick this up later. Carth wouldn't wriggle out of this so easily.

At that moment Anaiya came jogging over to them.

"Hey warn me the next time you two decide to stop and chat. I was at the door of the cantina when I realized you weren't with me. So try to keep up huh?"

"If her ladyship demands it we'll try and comply," said Matthias sarcastically.

* * *

The air inside the Upper City Cantina was thick with cigarra smoke and the smell of exotic ales. Right in the entrance hallway were several Pazaak tables and further in was the bar itself.

The three split up and spread out through the cantina. Carth wondered over to the Pazaak tables where a heated match was in progress. The player sitting near where Carth was standing threw down his cards and some credit chips and stalked away. Pazaak was a simple enough card game where you had to use your card deck to get to twenty in nine tries and win three hands to win the game. A simple game but responsible for making and breaking a thousand fortunes across the galaxy.

"And Niklos the great Pazaak player wins again!" stated the winning player. He was dressed in an immaculate tunic and had a pretty girl under each arm. Carth grinned. He had learned long ago in his matches against shipmates, that the ones with the egos were usually easy to beat, depending on how good their deck was.

"Mind if I play?' asked Carth. Niklos looked him up and down, taking in his scruffy appearance and grinned like a shark about to devour a helpless fish.

"Of course my friend," he said in his thick Tarisian accent, "provided of course you have the credits to wager? Shall we start the betting at, say, 100 credits?" he chuckled with a sneer. Carth grinned right back.

"Sounds good to me." This guy was so done for.

Matthias was making the rounds of the bar, holding a glass of juma juice, when he was brought to a halt by a pretty woman sitting at on of the tables.

"Hello. I don't think I've seen you in here before."

Matthias examined her closely. She was quite pretty and seemed not to be overly drunk.

"Hi, I'm Matthias Starseeker. And you're name is?"

"Sarna. Junior Officer Third-class Sarna with the Sith Occupation Force."

Matthias leaned forward, now very interested in this pretty young Sith woman.

* * *

Anaiya had made her way to the back of the cantina, into a room lined with wall-mounted monitors and a medium-sized Hutt reclining the corner.

"Oh I can't believe I didn't get tickets for this match! Now we'll have to watch it on the view screen," said a woman who was standing with a taller man near one of the screens.

"Who cares? It's Duncan and Gerlon fighting, it's not like we're missing anything good."

"Quiet the match is about to start!"

Attracted by the conversation, Matthias moved over to watch a free screen. On it she saw a circular arena with raised seating platforms that formed a pit in the center. Two men clad in armor were standing at opposite ands of the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen may I direct your attention to the dueling ring! The match is about to start! In this corner: looking to climb the ranks yet again is the ever persistent-DEADEYE DUNCAN! And in this corner is his challenger! A man so tough even a disfiguring injury couldn't end his career ha ha ha! I give you-GERLON TWO-FINGERS! LET THE DUEL BEGIN!"

At those words a gong sounded and both duelists drew blaster pistols. Actually Gerlon drew his pistol while Duncan fumbled his and dropped it to the floor. Gerlon fired, the bolt hitting Duncan dead in the chest.

"And to nobody's great surprise Deadeye is down again. Don't worry folks; he's just unconscious as usual. And the winner is-GERLON TWO-FINGERS!"

Anaiya stepped back from the screen. She had an idea. She saw the duelist, Gerlon Two-Fingers emerge from a side door and start talking to the Hutt. With a wide smile she strode over to introduce herself.

* * *

Two VERY long hours later, Matthias had managed to disentangle himself from Sarna and went looking for Carth and Anaiya. He had some very interesting things to tell them. He ran into Carth on the other end of the bar. He was holding a large stack of credits and was trying to brush off some girl named Christyaa or something.

"What is with this planet? I've been yelled at five times and been mistaken for a waiter twice! They have no concepts of manners here," Matthias complained to Carth.

"Tell me about it. From what I've heard they don't appreciate the Sith being here, but as long as they don't start stealing everyone's money, they seem content to sit back and let the Sith have free reign."

After that they found Anaiya coming out of the back room, her clothes cut and burnt and with some bleeding wounds.

"Anaiya what in the sithspawn happened to you?" cried Carth when they saw her.

"The dueling ring," she answered, and then proceeded to tell them about the huge amounts of credits there was to be made in the ring. She had gone up against the first three of the top six duelists on Taris and had already made a little more than 1,000 credits.

"We could use the credits… but powered-down blasters and vibroblades? And nobody ever dies? How come I get the feeling they're trying to take you for a ride?" said Carth as they supported her on the way out.

* * *

They stopped a passing protocol droid who directed them to a small clinic run by a Dr. Zelka Forn. As they walked through the double doors, the balding, dark-skinned doctor rose to greet them.

"I'm Dr. Zelka Forn. From the looks of you I'd say you're from off world. But I'll not have it said that Zelka Forn refused treatment just because his patient was an off-worlder. If you'll come this way I should be able to patch you up. I can treat most any injury here, except for the Rakghoul disease."

"What exactly is this Rakghoul disease?" asked Anaiya, ever inquisitive.

"The Rakghouls are horrible monsters that live in the Undercity, and spread their disease to the inhabitants of Taris. The Rakghoul plague has afflicted Taris for centuries because of this. The Republic scientists were working on a cure at the military base, but then the Sith invaded. If there is a cure, then the Sith are probably stockpiling it for their soldiers who have been sent into the Undercity to look for those downed Republic space pods."

"We sure picked a great planet to crash on, huh Carth," moaned Matthias.

* * *

As Zelka tended to Anaiya under Carth's watchful eye, Matthias explored the small clinic. An unmarked door caught his eye. Every other door in the place was clearly labeled, but this was not. Additionally it had a lock that looked capable of stopping a blaster bolt. He oh so casually leaned against the door and slipped a security spike into the lock. _Click! _He eased open the door and gasped. Inside was a long room with eight kolto tanks lining the walls, four of them filled with two men and a Mon Calamari. Unfortunately that was the exact same moment when Zelka, Anaiya, and Carth walked out of the examining room.

"Hey! Don't go in there it's restricted!" yelled Zelka, but Carth and Anaiya beat him to it. They too gasped when they saw what was in the room. Anaiya ran her hands over one of the tanks.

"This is Sgt. Ashaad! And over here; it's Ensign Baan!" she said.

"And this is Lt. Ackran the navigator," said Carth, examining the Mon Cal.

"You know these soldiers?" asked Zelka, "Then that must mean you're Republic soldiers too!"

"What happened to these men?" asked Carth.

"Ever since the space battle overhead, people have been bringing in these soldiers. Must of them have injuries that are too severe, they won't last much longer. All I can do for them is make their last days as comfortable as possible." Matthias and Carth shook his hand.

"It's good to know that some of the men fell into compassionate hands. On behalf of the Republic I thank you.

"Just please don't tell anyone they are here. But it seems after they're initial questioning the Sith have not returned."

Anaiya mimed closing a zipper over her mouth. "You're secret's safe with us friend."

* * *

As they stepped out of the clinic, night was beginning to fall on Taris, and the lights were starting to come on, bathing the skyscrapers in a myriad of colors that dazzled one to look at.

"I think the city looks much better at night," said Matthias.

"Maybe… but the beauty masks the corruption deep inside," said Anaiya.

"Bright ray of starshine, aren't you?" remarked Matthias, "Anyway we should head back to the apartment."

* * *

As they bedded down for the night, Matthias told them about Sarna and the party she had invited him to.

"I don't like this. It could be a trap," said Carth.

"A trap? Carth that woman had no idea who I am. Besides you missed what I told you about how she said that they would have their uniforms with them. We can use those uniforms to get down into the Lower City to search for Bastila. It's the best plan we've had so far so I say let's do it."

"I agree with Matthias," said Anaiya, adding her voice to the debate.

"All right all right, I'll go but don't expect me to act really chummy. What we're doing could be considered fraternizing with the enemy.

"It's called espionage nerf herder! Now bunk down on the couch like a nice boy and try and get some sleep ok?" said Matthias, throwing him a sickly grin.

* * *

The next evening they made sure their clothes looked presentable, and then walked down the aerial walkways to the address that Sarna had given Matthias. As they walked through the door of the apartment building, Matthias turned to Carth, whom he'd noticed being a little distant.

"Yes? What's on your mind?" said Carth.

"Is this a good time to continue our conversation from earlier?"

"I guess I did say that you could ask me again later. Is this really necessary?"

"I just want to get to know you a little better," said Matthias as they stepped into the building turbolift.

"Oh, well if it's an interrogation you wanted why didn't you say so."

"Excellent! Soon all your secrets will be mine!" grinned Matthias.

"All my secrets are purely of the mundane variety, I assure you. Let me ask you something first though. I've been going over the battle on the _Endar Spire_ in my head and some things just don't add up for me. Maybe you could fill in the blanks?"

"Like you said when we first met: Bastila didn't have time to use her powers."

"True. Bastila is as powerful as they say. I guess no Jedi ability, however powerful makes up for being completely outmatched. We didn't choose that battle anyway it was forced on us. Hell, I'm surprised that any of us made it out of there to talk about it." Carth stared at Matthias and then at Anaiya for a moment, his brow furrowed.

"Come to think of it, it's a little strange that you both ended up here at the same time."

"Don't look at me, I was just getting blown up in a corridor," said Anaiya with a note of irritation.

"You'd rather we weren't?" asked Matthias neutrally.

"Don't be ridiculous, you've both proved yourselves since the crash, we wouldn't have made it this far without you. Still…"

Are you implying that "I" had something to do with the crash?" asked Matthias, now shocked.

"No! Well maybe. It just seems strange that someone that Bastila's party specifically requested to be aboard is among the survivors. Considering your connection to Bastila it just seems that your presence here is a little convenient."

"You know Carth shouldn't we be trying to work together instead of making unfounded accusations?" asked Anaiya.

"I am working with you, I'd be a fool not too. I've just learned to expect the unexpected."

"You do know we're on the same side right?" asked Matthias.

"I just don't trust easily, for good reasons," said Carth, looking Matthias in the eye, "Reasons which are my own, and no I'm not going to discuss them so can we just get on with what we were doing?"

"Hey lovebirds, if you're done? We're here," said Anaiya as they stopped in front of an apartment door, from which music could be heard.

* * *

The party was in full swing. Sarna quickly spotted Matthias and practically hauled the three Republics over to her table.

"Here you are! I thought you weren't going to show. You have to try some of this Tarisian Ale. It's fantastic!"

"Careful Sarna," warned her friend, "That ale's got enough kick to keep us out till morning."

"Who cares? We're not on duty tomorrow so let's live a little.

As the party wore on, Matthias, Anaiya, and Carth found many varied excuses to not drink any of the very potent Tarisian Ale. Around midnight, the last of the Sith officers had dropped to the floor from alcohol-induced exhaustion. The three adventurers quietly slipped out with three Sith uniforms and melted into the night outside.

* * *

The next morning found a trio of Sith troopers marching down the causeway towards the elevator that lead to the Lower City.

"Aren't you a little short for a shocktrooper?" asked Matthias of Anaiya, whose armor was indeed one size too large.

"Shut up," she said.

"Snappy. I didn't think that Jedi got like that," replied Matthias.

"Yeah, well not all of us are perfect."

As they approached the guarded elevator Carth seemed to grow more nervous.

"This is not gonna work," he said.

"Why didn't you say so before?" said Anaiya.

"I DID say so before," said Carth, but they had arrived at the gate and it was too late to turn back now. The guard looked them over once and then reached for something in his belt. They three stiffened up immediately but it was only a small signal device.

"Another patrol going down to the Lower City eh? Be careful down there it's nasty. The swoop gangs will take a shot at anyone, even us," said the guard and pressed the button on the device. The gate opened revealing the cramped elevator. Matthias, Carth, and Anaiya boarded and the gate shut with an ominous clank. The car started to descend, plunging them into weakly lit darkness.

"One small step for us, one giant leap into hell to go," murmured Matthias.


	4. Chapter 3: The Lower City

**Chapter III: The Lower City**

Matthias sat at the dirty bar and nursed a flat lum and several bruises and burns. Their foray into the lower city hadn't gone well. Within 15 standard minutes of the elevator depositing them into the fetid decay, they had been attacked at least a dozen times. The only thing that had saved them from being mugged, begged, etc. had been their Sith uniforms, which they'd had to put away before coming into Javyar's Cantina. Javyar's looked like a decomposed version of the Upper City Cantina, with slime and filth, both sentient and not decorating its dim interior. The cantina wasn't completely safe, as they had found out when they'd come in. As they entered the bar proper, three members of the Black Vulkar gang blocked them as they accosted a small man sitting at one of the tables.

"Go away," said the small man in a nasal voice.

"**Hey! You not be like that! We just want to talk to big, bad bounty hunter Calo Nord!" **said a Rodian.

"**Nah, this can't be Calo Nord, he's supposed to be tough," **snorted his Twi'lek companion.

"One," said Calo simply.

"**Huh? What one mean? What's he trying to say?" **said the second Rodian.

"**You shouldn't talk down to us. We're members of the Black Vulkars! What do you think of that?" **said the twi'lek.

"Two," said Calo.

"**Me not understand. One, two? What, he trying to count how many of us there are?" **said the confused first Rodian.

"**It's three against one! What do you think of those odds?" **challenged the twi'lek. It was the last thing he ever said.

"Three," stated Calo. He then threw a device that looked like a grenade on the floor. Before anyone could react, the flash-bang went off. There were several shouts, three blaster shots, and then the light faded away. The three Vulkars lay on the floor, very dead. Calo Nord calmly sheathed his twin blaster pistols and then strode towards the door, which Anaiya and company blocked. He gave them a look that could've frozen molten carbonite and said, "One." Not wanting to challenge this dangerous little man, the three quickly stepped out of the way.

"Smart," said Calo and left.

Now Carth, Anaiya, and Matthias sat at the bar and nursed their wounds and drinks. Their attention was caught when a high, female voice cried out amidst the normal room buzz.

"I told you to leave me alone! Now give me some space bug-eye! Your breath smells like bantha poodoo!"

Wanting to see what the trouble was, the three made their way over to the source of the racket, which turned out to be yet another pair of Black Vulkars, both Rodians, who were menacing a lithe, blue-skinned Twi'lek girl.

"Little girl should not be in bar. This no place for little girl. Little girl should run away home now." Said one of the Rodians, as he grabbed the girl's arm. She wrenched it out of the alien's grasp.

"Just a sec boys. Zaalbar, a little help here? I need you to rip the legs off some insects." A hulking, furry shadow shifted in its seat at one of the tables against the wall. It didn't speak up in Basic but instead began to growl and bark.

"Quit complaining, you can finish later. Besides you need the exercise so get over here!" said the girl. Anaiya's suspicions about the voice were confirmed as the hulking form moved into the light and was revealed to be a brown-furred wookie. The rodians took a step back.

"**We no want trouble with wookie. Our problem with you little girl."**

"You got a problem with me? Then you got a problem with Big Z. So unless you want to take on my furry friend, I suggest you greenies hop on outta here." The two rodians began slowly backing away, their eyes fixed on the wookie called Zaalbar.

"**Little girl lucky she has big friend," **one of them called as they began to head towards the door.

Matthias stepped towards the girl and asked, "Are you all right?" The girl looked him up and down.

"Hey, I don't recognize you and I know just about everyone around this part of the lower city. I guess that makes Big Z and me you're official welcoming committee."

"You showed a lot of guts dealing with those Vulkars kid," said Carth, "You got a name?"

"My name's Mission Vao and this big wookie is my best friend Zaalbar. I'd offer to give you a tour, but the streets aren't safe right now, what with the gang war between the Hidden Beks and the Black Vulkars."

"Tell us about that," asked Anaiya.

"It's all Brejik's fault," returned Mission hotly, "If he hadn't been such a sleemo, this would never have happened. Ya see, Brejik used to be part of the Hidden Beks, Gadon's right hand man. I think Gadon was grooming him to take over leadership or something. Anyway, when Gadon lost his sight, everyone assumed that he'd let Brejik take over. But Gadon said that with his artificial eyes he could see just fine, and that Brejik wasn't ready to take over. Brejik stormed out and then shows up in charge of the Vulkars. Next thing anyone knows, Brejik's gone and declared war against the Beks. Gadon is one of the nicest and most decent people I've ever met. I can't believe that Brejik wants to kill him now. It's all just so stupid!"

"Well that helps put things into perspective somewhat. Know anything else that would be helpful to a trio of wanderers kid?" said Matthias.

"I'm not a kid! I'm fourteen, and yeah, I know pretty much all there is to know about the lower city. I've even got the scoop on that bounty hunter Calo Nord.

"Tell us about Calo Nord," said Anaiya.

"Calo Nord's one of the most famous bounty hunters in the galaxy. He's killed more people than the Iridian Plague! I've seen him kill people just for trying to talk to him!" said Mission.

"So we noticed," grimaced Carth.

"I figure he's been hired by Davik Kang to do a special job for the Exchange. I'd wager a thousand credits that once the quarantine is lifted, he'll be offa this rock."

"Well that certainly helps us some," said Carth, "We'll be going. We've got a job to do so thanks, you've been a big help."

"You going?" asked Mission, "Yeah this place was getting boring anyway. Hey Zaalbar let's go."

The big Wookie let out a mournful howl.

"Can't you think about anything besides your stomach for five minutes?" said Mission exasperatedly, "Come on, let's see if they have anything good at the Bek base." And with that, the slight Twi'lek girl and her 2 and a half-meter tall wookie companion exited.

"Rival gangs, Twi'lek street urchins, and wookies. This just keeps getting stranger and stranger," mumbled Matthias as they also left.

* * *

They had decided to seek out this Gadon Thek that Mission had mentioned, thinking that he sounded like he might be able to help or at the very least provide information. They had wanted to follow Mission, but she and Zaalbar had already vanished into the murk of the lower city.

It was another danger-laden trek as they tried to find their way to the Hidden Bek base. Along with the usual assaults and attempted muggings, the trio had two more unusual encounters. The first was when they happened upon an argument between a pair of Black Vulkars and a thin, weasely man.

"You guys are late with your payments. What, you think just cause you're in some gang that you won't give Davik his cut?" asked the thin man.

"**I don't see Davik earning his share! We're the ones doing all the work!" **said the first alien.

"**Yeah! Let's see the big crime boss come down here and take his cut!" **said the second.

"Oh so you want to play this the hard way?" said the thin man with an amused smile, "Haha, okay." He whistled and a much larger man stepped out of the shadows. He was about two meters tall, with iron gray hair and eyes. He wore only a simple pair of slacks and a black shirt, over which he wore a red combat vest. In his hands he carried a blaster rifle that looked simply too big to be allowed. It definitely looked capable of blasting holes through solid duranium. Carth stiffened and a hand went to one of his pistols.

"Mandalorian!" he hissed.

The Vulkars didn't look happy either. Gone was any trace of their bravado and ego.

"**Oh hey Canderous. We… we didn't know you was working for Davik now. Here, take the payment, we won't be causing anymore trouble."**

"I knew you boys would see it our way. Now don't be late next time." Said the thin man.

"Too bad," said the mandalorian, his voice a deep, growling, rumble, "I was looking forward to cracking some skulls."

"I'm sure you were Canderous! Don't worry I'll call you if there's any more trouble," said the thin man as he walked away. Carth, Anaiya, and Matthias were also about to leave when Canderous noticed them and smirked.

"Those Vulkars are dumber than a Coruscant granite slug and only slightly more appealing. Gadon and the others keep their people in line, but Brejik's getting delusions of grandeur. If Davik is smart, he'll slap that young punk back down."

"Who are you?" asked Anaiya.

"I'm someone you don't want to get on the bad side of," growled the big mandalorian, "Now if you'll excuse me, Davik's got me on special assignment." And with that, the mandalorian calmly strode away.

* * *

Their second encounter occurred shortly thereafter. They had cut through an alleyway when they saw the bounty hunter Calo Nord approach a pair of rodians.

"**You seem to be taking an interest in our progress. Do you need something little man?" **asked one of the rodians.

"**Quiet Luugro! That's Calo Nord, the famous bounty hunter!" **said the second.

"There's a bounty on your little green heads. I'm here to collect," said Calo simply.

"**The only way you'll collect is over our dead bodies!" **shouted the rodian.

"That's the plan," said Calo.

Anaiya and Matthias saw it as if in slow motion. Before they could warn the rodians, Calo whipped out his blasters and shot them dead. He calmly holstered the pistols again and turned away. As Calo walked past them, he gave them an icy stare through the blast goggles he wore. And then he was gone, swallowed up by Taris' darkness.

* * *

After what seemed like hours, they finally arrived at the entrance to the Hidden Beks' base. As they approached the door, a sentry stopped them.

"Hold it right there," said the woman.

"We need to see Gadon Thek. We were told he could help us," said Anaiya, matching the woman's glare.

"A lot of people want to see Gadon. He's a hero of the common people. But the days of the Beks' open door policy are gone. Between the Sith occupation and the Vulkar gang war Gadon has more enemies than he used to. We're being very careful of who we let in now."

"Perhaps we could be an ally against those enemies," said Anaiya, indicating Carth and Matthias. The sentry ran a wary eye over the two men.

"Hmm, perhaps. We could always use an extra hand and you don't look like you're with the Sith or the Vulkars…" the sentry straightened and pressed a button that caused the door to open with a metallic groan.

"You can go on in and speak to Gadon if you want. Besides it's not like you can do anything to harm him in his own base, not with Zaerdra watching his back," pronounced the sentry as she waved the three inside.

* * *

The Bek base was dimly lit, but seemed somehow homier than the alleys and tunnels of the rest of the lower city. Various aliens and humans wandered here and there, dressed in the colors of the Hidden Beks. At the far end of the room, a dark skinned man sat behind a large durasteel desk, with a white skinned Twi'lek woman in full armor standing beside it. Presuming that this was Gadon Thek, they marched up to him. Before they could address him however, the Twi'lek woman pulled out a blaster rifle and stepped in front of the man.

"Hold it right there! Who are you, and what is your business with Gadon?"

"Calm down Zaerdra," spoke the man sitting behind the desk. He got up out of his chair and strode over beside the woman called Zaerdra. Matthias noticed that Gadon walked with a noticeable limp.

"Nobody is going to try something in the heart of our own base. It would be a suicide mission."

"You're too trusting Gadon. Brejik and his Vulkars want you dead. Anyone we don't know is a potential threat and it's my job to make sure you're safe." Said Zaerdra as if she were lecturing a young child.

"Do you want us to start attacking strangers on sight Zaerdra, like the Vulkars do? I will never let it come to that! Now let them pass." Said Gadon. He had a strong, commanding voice that burned with passion, probably why he was a good leader. Zaerdra's lekku twitched in agitation but she bowed her head.

"As you wish," she said, then she turned to Anaiya, Matthias and Carth, "You can speak to Gadon if you want, but just remember that I'm watching you. You try anything and you'll be vaporized before you can say Vulkar spy!"

Gadon stepped forward, the lights finally revealing his whole face. Anaiya couldn't help but stare at his unnaturally pale eyes. They looked like they didn't quite belong, the pupils dilated much too often for her liking. Gadon focused on her and then smiled. Anaiya blushed and looked away.

"No need to be embarrassed, I'm not ashamed of what I've become. As you can see, I lost my eyes in a swoop crash. I rely on these artificial implants to see now, but it's not as good as the original thing. But my blindness was not the worst consequence of the accident. My affliction is what has led to this war between my Beks and the Vulkars."

"It isn't your fault and you know it Gadon," said Zaerdra fiercely. Gadon laughed slightly.

"You'll have to forgive Zaerdra. Ever since Brejik and the Vulkars began this war, she's been a little over-zealous in her duties. The problems with the Sith haven't helped any. Zaerdra seems to forget that I can look after myself," he said directing a pointed stare at the woman, "Now how can I help you?

"We need some information on those escape pods that crashed down here," said Anaiya.

"The escape pods? You know, I heard that the Sith have been asking around the upper city about those pods as well… but you don't look like your with the Sith," said Gadon.

"They might be spies Gadon. They might be working for the Sith," Zaerdra spat heatedly.

"Cool it Zaerdra! If the Sith thought we knew anything useful, they'd have a battalion of troops kicking down our door! No, I think these offworlders have their own agenda."

"Don't worry, we're not working for the Sith," said Carth.

"I suppose I could tell you what I know… it's not like it would do any harm to my gang… but it might cause problems for the Vulkars, and that's okay in my book. The Vulkars stripped those pods clean within hours. It's too bad that my Beks didn't get to them first, considering what the Vulkars found. A female Republic officer named Bastila survived the crash and the Vulkars found her when they went hunting for the pods. We Beks don't believe in intergalactic slavery, but Brejik holds a different opinion. They took her prisoner."

"Bastila's a slave? Wonderful, this makes our job so much easier," groaned Carth.

"What will happen to her?" asked Matthias.

"Normally the Vulkars would take a captured slave and sell them for a nice profit to Davik or an off-world slaver. But a Republic officer is no ordinary catch," said Gadon.

"At least they still think that Bastila's just a Republic officer. That could work to our advantage. Maybe she'll escape from the Vulkar base on her own," said Anaiya.

"Ha!" laughed Gadon, "She's too valuable to leave with the scum at the base. No, Brejik's got her hidden away somewhere safe until the big swoop race. You'll never find her," said Gadon.

"There has to be some way we can save her!" cried Anaiya.

"I'm afraid that your friend has become a pawn in Brejik's plan to take over the lower city gangs. He's offered her up as the Vulkar's share of the prize in the Taris Season Opener swoop race. By putting up such a valuable prize, Brejik hopes to win the loyalty of the smaller gangs, with their numbers, he can finally destroy me and my followers."

"So how do you propose we rescue Bastila then? We can't fight all the gangs," said Carth, desperation edging into his voice.

"The only hope you have is to somehow win the swoop race.

"You have got to be kidding us!" said Matthias

"No kidding. I could help you, if you'd be willing to help us. We both have something to gain here. And much to lose.

"What are you proposing?" asked Anaiya.

"The race is for the gangs only. No outsiders are allowed, so I could sponsor you as a rider for the Hidden Beks. If you can win the race, you'll win your friend's freedom. But first you have to do something for me. My mechanics built a new prototype accelerator for our swoop. A bike with the accelerator can beat anything out on that track. But the Vulkars stole the prototype. They plan to use it to guarantee them victory. You'll have to break into their base and steal it back," said Gadon.

"And just how, exactly, are we supposed to do this?" asked Matthias skeptically.

"Getting in won't be easy. The front doors are locked down tight. But I know someone who might be able to help you get in the back way: Mission Vao."

"Mission?" exclaimed Zaerdra, "Gadon, she's just a kid! How's she supposed to help them?

"Because Mission knows every step of every back alley in this sector of the city. Plus she knows the Undercity sewers better than anyone. If anyone can get you inside the Vulkar base, she can.

"We met Mission in Javyar's Cantina earlier," said Anaiya, "where can we find her now?"

"She and her wookie friend are always looking to stir up some excitement," said Gadon, "They like to go exploring in the Undercity despite the dangers. Your best bet is to look for her in the Undercity. But you'll need a way past the guards and their droid turrets," said Gadon.

"We've got these Sith uniforms to disguise ourselves," said Carth. Gadon ran his eyes over them skeptically.

"A simple disguise might have fooled the guards in the upper city, but the security's much tougher down here. You'll need the proper security code. Luckily my gang ambushed a Sith patrol that was headed down to the Undercity and their code fell into my hands." Gadon gave them a sly look.

"Since we're working together now, I suppose I could give you the code in exchange for those uniforms of yours." The three looked at each other and then nodded. One by one, they handed their uniforms over to Zaerdra.

"Good choice," said Gadon," Thanks for the uniforms. You won't need them with this code anyway."

"We'll be back when we have the accelerator," said Anaiya, nodding to Gadon.

"I suggest you hurry," he said, "The race is coming up soon and we want one of you to have time to practice before it happens. Good hunting and feel free to come back anytime. We're not like those Vulkar savages. Strangers are welcome in the Bek base." Gadon raised his hand in salute and the three returned the gesture. Code in hand, they departed the Bek base.

* * *

The elevator to the Undercity was a surprisingly short walk from the Bek base. As Gadon had said, there were a pair of Sith troopers guarding the elevator, and a bunch of nasty looking laser turrets. Cautiously, they approached the doors, when one of the guards pointed his rifle at them.

"Hold it civilian. This turbolift is only for the use of those on official Sith business. If you don't have the proper code, you might as well turn around and walk back."

Carth handed the code to the trooper, who handed it to his partner. The second trooper ran the code cylinder through a machine next to the door.

"Do they have clearance?"

"It's an older code sir, but it checks out."

"Right," the guard turned to face them, "All right you can go down, but I don't envy you though. Watch out for the mutants, the Rakghouls. Some advice: If you see anything moving down there, shoot first and ask questions later," said the guard. Carth turned to Anaiya.

"I never thought I'd see the day when a Sith soldier would be cautioning me to watch my back."

The doors of the lift opened and they stepped inside. The other guard gave a sardonic wave as the door slammed shut again and the lift started up with a rattling jerk. Once more they descended into the darkness.


	5. Chapter 4: The Undercity

**Chapter IV: The Undercity**

The Undercity combined the filth and decay of the lower city with darkness and despair. When Anaiya, Carth and Matthias stepped out of the elevator, they found themselves in a village. They were immediately accosted, as Carth said; "Even the beggars are trying to shake us down!"

The two beggars were chased off by a girl named Shaleena who proceeded to babble on about her dreams of living on the surface, meaning the upper city, since they were technically on the planet's real surface.

Carth had gone to talk to the village leader, Gendar and had left Anaiya and Matthias to wander around the village, searching for information. The Undercity village was a place of nightmarish desolation, where the residents lived in far worse squalor than even the most meager dweller of the lower city. This was Taris' face of evil. After encountering the paddock where the destitute villagers were forced to lock in their fellows who had been infected with the rakghoul disease, Anaiya finally doubled over.

"Are you all right?" asked Matthias.

"I'll live. But the suffering here is… intense," said Anaiya, "What the truly horrible thing is though, is that this isn't the first time I've seen this." Matthias turned his eyes to Anaiya's.

"I've seen this on plenty of worlds, and not just ones that were affected by war. There are some planets whose rulers make some very bad decisions out of a desire for wealth or power, like here on Taris, and this is often the result. It makes you sick to think that even with the Jedi doing their best to maintain peace and law in the Republic, that places like this can still exist."

* * *

Anaiya had gone to find Carth, leaving Matthias to his own devices. He was passing by a particularly decrepit tent when a voice called out from its shadowed maw.

"You! You are from the up-world!" called out a voice that was raggedy and wheezy, but still full of a commanding tone. Matthias moved to the entrance of the tent and beheld a small old man sitting cross-legged on the floor next to a dim glow lamp.

"Is this the time of destiny then? Are you a portent of the salvation of my people? Or are you just another false sign to lead us from the true path? Are you the herald of prophecy or another false sign? Tell me what fate you unleash upon us! Salvation or damnation? Speak up-worlder!"

Matthias had a definite feeling that this old man was actually crazy enough to give him problems but at the same time, his instincts told him that it would do no harm to talk with the man. He had always trusted his instincts.

"Uh, okay. What do you want of me?"

"A question. You are confused, bewildered, perplexed. Understandable I suppose. Even after a hundred years of life, I myself become befuddled at times. My name is Rukil, the oldest Outcast in the village. Rukil Wrinkle-Skin the children sometimes call me."

"So, again, what do you want from ME Rukil?"

Rukil leaned forward so that the lamplight washed across his ancient, wrinkled face. He studied Matthias very carefully, his pale eyes darting hither and thither.

"No… no not yet. Do I dare to trust you with my secret knowledge? No, not yet. You must prove yourself first."

"Say what?"

"I was once the spiritual leader for this village. But over time the villagers fell away from the true path until only a single apprentice still followed me. Now she is… lost. I sent her out into the Undercity to look for… something. I beg of you up-worlder! Please find my apprentice! Her name is Malya. It will be difficult, she could be anywhere in the Undercity. But I must know what she… found. Please, will you do this boon for an old man on the verge of despair?

"I'll… I'll try and find her if I can, but my friends and I have our own mission here," said Matthias without really knowing why. Rukil's beaming smile was full of cracked, yellowed teeth.

"Thank you up-worlder."

* * *

Matthias re-joined the others at the gate leading to the rest of the Undercity. A woman was there, begging the gatekeeper to open it to let in her husband, who was being chased by rakghouls.

"We'll kill the rakghouls," Anaiya told the gatekeeper.

As soon as they stepped through the gate, the chased man ran straight past them and into the arms of his wife. The gatekeeper slammed the gate shut behind them, trapping them outside with the hideous monsters. The rakghouls looked like the personification of all that was evil on Taris. They ran on all fours, except when they reared up to attack. They had lifeless milky white eyes and bone white, translucent skin. They were hairless and had wide, fang-filled jaws that were dripping with green ichor. Matthias was strongly reminded of a zombie holo-movie he had seen right before being assigned to the _Endar Spire._

"Cover me with blasters," said Anaiya as she took out two vibroblades and hooked them together to form a double-bladed vibrosword. Carth watched in amazement as she twirled the weapon expertly above and around her.

Anaiya sliced into the rakghouls, four of them slain by her in the first stroke. Carth and Matthias opened up with their blaster rifles and cut down all but two of the remaining monsters. Anaiya then finished those two by somersaulting over their heads and slicing them with her blade. Both Carth and Matthias watched, entranced as she performed the move.

The Outcasts at the gate thanked them profusely and then left. Now they were alone in the vast expanse of the Undercity. The soil was bare all around, except for small clumps of dead grass that refused to wither away. The space was broken only by the massive foundations of the city above. Combined with the dim glow from failing lighting panels around the service ducts, the scene reminded them of some alien moonscape. Silent and foreboding.

It had only been 15 minutes, when they heard a voice cry out and a pair of feet pounding the dead soil.

"Please, you've gotta help me! Nobody else will, even the Beks won't help me now! But I can't just leave him, he's my friend! You'll help me won't you?"

It was Mission Vao. The petite Twi'lek girl rounded a pile of junk and practically jumped into Carth's arms. She didn't look very good. Tears streaked dirt on her face. Her gray vest was torn and she had some cuts on her arms.

"Woah, slow down Mission. What happened," said a somewhat startled Carth.

"It's Zaalbar! He's in trouble, big trouble! If we don't help him, they'll sell him into slavery!

"Calm down Mission," said Anaiya, holding the young woman's face in her hands, "Take a deep breath and tell us what happened exactly." Mission drew a shuddering breath.

"Me… me and Zaalbar were just down here exploring. We do it all the time!"

"I guess with a wookie by your side, you figure you can handle the odd rakghoul attack," said Carth.

"But this time they were waiting for us! Gamorrean slavers. We didn't even have time to break for it. Big Z threw himself at them and roared for me to run! I… I took off. I figured that Big Z could handle them, but there were too many. They're going to sell him to a slaver I just know it!"

"Do you know where they took him?" asked Matthias.

"Into the sewers. The stink reminds them of home I guess."

The three Republic soldiers took a moment to confer amongst themselves.

"I have an idea," said Carth. He turned to Mission.

"Here's the deal kid. If we help you get your wookie pal back, then you have to help us get into the Vulkar base," he said. Mission nodded emphatically.

"Once we get Big Z back, I'll show you the back door. It's in the sewers too. Now let's go! The more time we waste down here the more chance that Big Z might not be there!

* * *

The newly formed quartet began to make their way toward the entrance to the sewers at a more rapid pace now that they knew that there was someone in danger who needed help. As they jogged past the base of another building, several men, including the mandalorian mercenary that had been called Canderous, surrounded them. One of the men pointed his blaster carbine at them. The way he was shaking didn't instill a lot of confidence in this squad of toughs.

"Don't… don't move. I'll shoot you if I have too!" said the quavering man.

"Settle down," said Canderous, knocking the carbine's muzzle down, "he last thing we need is more casualties from a needless firefight." The merc ran a critical eye over them. Obviously he didn't remember them from earlier.

"From the look of you I'd say that you're down here for the same thing as we are; to salvage something from those Republic space pods. Here's some friendly advice: Go back right now."

"Are you threatening us?" asked a wary Carth, all the bad experiences of the Mandalorian Wars coming back to him.

"Mandalorians don't make threats. We make promises. It's not us you should be worried about anyway. It's those damn rakghouls."

"Canderous!" cried one of the other mercs, "I heard something! Over there, in the shadows. Sounded like a rakghoul…"

"Stang! Get those blasters ready boys!" shouted Canderous just as a pack of rakghouls came charging out of the darkness.

The resulting fight was quick and bloody. Once again Anaiya drew her blade and Matthias followed suit, drawing his vibroblade from a sheath strapped across his back. As Anaiya finished off one of the mutants, she saw that one of them was trying to get the jump on Carth.

"Carth!" she shouted, throwing herself in the path of the rakghoul and skewering it with her blade. Carth looked down at her, not quite sure how to respond,

"Thanks," he mumbled. Anaiya flashed him a dazzling smile.

"Any time," she said.

* * *

None of the mercs had died, but Canderous seemed eager to leave all the same.

"This is getting ridiculous. I've already lost half-dozen men to these monsters. Davik's boys just aren't trained for this and I can't baby-sit them all. All right boys, let's get going. I can't carry all this salvage back by myself."

As they began marching off, Canderous turned and offered one last comment.

"Hey, take my advice: Leave while you've still got all your parts intact."

* * *

They were close to the sewers now or so Mission said. Perhaps the stronger odor of filth was a clue.

"Hey Carth," asked Mission, "You're a pilot for the Republic right? You've been all over the galaxy right? So tell me, how do you rate Taris compared to other worlds you've seen?"

"To be honest Mission, Taris would rate pretty low. The rich spoiling themselves while the poor starve and fall prey to the rakghouls, it's not a pretty picture."

"Yeah, but that's only since the Sith occupation. Before that… well I guess it was pretty much the same. Hmm, I guess Taris… aint as great as I thought you know?"

"Trust me Mission, there are a lot of worlds better than Taris, there are worse too, but Taris is no place to for a kid to grow up. Even one who's got a wookie by her side." Anaiya couldn't help but notice how forcefully he said that last part.

"Hey I aint a kid! And I look out for Big Z as much as he looks out for me. He's not my baby-sitter. Geez, I ask you a question and you give me a lecture!"

"Don't you snap at me missy! You want a lecture, how's this? Only bratty little children fly off the handle because of a simple comment."

"I think that both of you need to calm down," said Anaiya but they weren't paying attention to her.

"I don't have to listen to you Carth! You aint my father, though you're sure old enough to be! So keep your lectures inside your withered old head, 'cause I don't need 'em!" said Mission.

"And I sure as hell don't need this, let's just get back to what we were doing."

* * *

Now that they were so close to the sewers, they suffered rakghoul attacks more often. The creatures had a very nasty habit of jumping out of nowhere. During one of these attacks, Matthias noticed that the creatures had made a nest. Running an eye over the grisly contents, he noticed a corpse dressed in the rags of the outcasts. The hand of the body was clutching an old, leather-bound book. Remembering what the old man Rukil had said, he pocketed the book. He didn't want to read it. He had a feeling that whatever was inside wasn't meant for his eyes.

* * *

They had one last obstacle blocking their way into the sewers. A Sith patrol was standing near enough to notice Anaiya and the others as they tried to sneak by. But thanks to their security code, Anaiya's charm and her ability to create a quick cover story about them being civilian mercs, they got rid of the patrol.

"Well, well, well," said Matthias as removed a vial of bubbling green liquid from the hand of a dead Sith, whose departed fellows had callously left behind, "Looks like they should've looked him over better."

He handed the vial to Anaiya, her face slightly illuminated by the faintly glowing liquid,

"The famous rakghoul serum…" she whispered.

* * *

The sewers stank with such a revolting, numbing, cloying, smothering stink that they were all forced to wear strips of cloth over their mouths, except for Mission who said that she'd learned to ignore it.

Mission led them deep into the maze of tunnels and pipes, moving like a huntress stalking hr prey. Gadon was right, she did know her way around. The journey wasn't without peril. There were plenty of rakghouls and gamorreans roaming about to give them trouble. Anaiya and Matthias had started using their blades more often as did Mission. Carth was noticing more that both Matthias and Anaiya were very adept at using blades. They would seemingly move together without being aware of it, yet sometimes stumbled into each other, but would recover quickly. It was yet one more suspicion to add to his growing list.

Matthias had made an effort to keep an eye out for any more objects like the book he'd found. During their trek through the stinking pipes, he found two more, one which Carth and Anaiya had to rescue him for. When asked what it was, he simply said that it was something that an old man in the village had asked him to find.

After half a standard hour, they found the chamber that held the gamorrean chieftain and his lieutenants. Matthias determined that surprise was still on their side and that a quick strike would give them the best chance of rescuing Zaalbar alive.

Mission sliced the locks on the door and the quartet charged in vibroblades and blasters flashing. Matthias was in his element. Fighting with the fierceness of a mandalorian he cleared a path through the pig-like aliens while Anaiya, Carth and Mission brought up the rear. In moments his prowess and the skill of his friends had slain all but the chieftain.

"Where is the wookie that you captured?" asked Matthias in a thunderous voice.

"Tell us now!" added Mission. The Chieftain squealed and raised his vibroaxe high into the air. Before anyone could stop him, he brought it swishing down and buried it in his chest. However they didn't need the chieftain after all as a loud pounding and roaring echoed from behind one of the heavy blast doors in the room. Mission examined the lock on the door.

"Hmm, this is one of those old-style manual locks. No electronics to slice or nothing. The sewers is the only place you'll find stuff this ancient, but don't worry, I know how to pick 'em," said Mission. Moments later the old door creaked open and a giant wookie emerged and swept Mission up into a joyful embrace.

"Glad to see you too Big Z!" giggled Mission, "You didn't think that I'd forget you? Mission and Zaalbar, together forever!"

Zaalbar growled and gestured at the others.

"These are my new friends who helped me rescue you Big Z!" said Mission.

"You can thank Matthias the most of us," said Carth, "Without his skills we wouldn't have made it this far," Matthias then surprised Zaalbar by giving him a wookie greeting.

"**You understand my language? That is rare for a human. I am impressed. You have saved my from a life of enslavement and the only way to repay such a deed is through a life debt," **growled Zaalbar.

"A Life debt? Are you sure Big Z? Think about this carefully. You better be sure about this," said Mission.

"**I am sure Mission. On my home world, my people are being used as slave labor because of our great physical strength. They see us as brutes and animals to be exploited. When the Gamorreans captured me, I thought that I was doomed to a life of servitude. I have been saved from such a fate and the only way to repay that kindness is to swear a life debt."**

"Wow! Big Z swearing a wookie life debt to you. This is… this is major! Do you realize what this means Matthias?" asked Mission

"What exactly?" said Matthias.

"A life debt is the most solemn vow a wookie can make. It means that he'll stay by your side for the rest of your life. Wherever you go, whatever you do, Zaalbar will be with you." Said Mission in a reverent voice.

"**In the presence of you all I swear this life debt. May my oath be as strong as the great Wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk," **said Zaalbar. Matthias stared up at the wookie. Carth and Anaiya looked on in awe.

"I am… I'm honored to accept this vow," he murmured.

"I guess that means you're stuck with me too. Wherever Big Z goes, so do I! I guess I also still owe you one secret path into the Vulkar base.

"And the sooner we get out of this hole the better!" added Carth.

"I better come with you. The Vulkars set up a force field to block off the way and I'm one of the few non-Vulkars who knows the access code. I picked them off the pocket of a Vulkar who had a little too much to drink at the Cantina. After the field their base is only a little further beyond. I only hope the Rancor monster isn't still there," said Mission.

"Rancor monster?" cried the others.

"You have got to be kidding me! I didn't sign up for this Sithspawn!" shouted Matthias.


	6. Chapter 5: Beks, Vulkars and Swoops

**Chapter V: Vulkars, Beks, and Swoops Oh My!**

Matthias poked his head out past the side of the door and saw a sight. The rancor monster had its back to him and was scratching and snuffling at another door farther down the cavernous room where the rancor had its nest. He leaned back to face the others

"There's no way in the nine hells of Corellia you're gonna make me fight that thing. I've seen what rancors are capable of and if you think for one moment…" He was cut off as Anaiya slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Sssh."

"Guys, maybe this can help…" started Mission but Carth cut her off.

"Well we have to think about something! What about grenades?"

"No good. That thing's hide is thicker than bantha leather. You'd just piss it off.

"Guys?"

"What if we tried a couple of those Cryoban grenades we picked up and just blast it until our power packs run dry?"

"That's a good idea…"

"I told you, we need something on the order of a laser cannon here!"

"Guys?"

"As soon as you find one let us know."

"Well why don't we just head back up to the Upper City, there should be something up there that we could buy?"

"With the amount of credits we…"

A soft bark of alarm from Zaalbar alerted the others to the fact that Mission was now making her way stealthily across the grated floor of the nest.

"Mission, come back!" Carth called as softly as he dared. But Mission continued on and began to pick her way across a pile of bones and rotten carcasses that was heaped in one corner of the cavern-like space.

"If she snaps one of those bones, that monster will be all over her inside of three seconds," Matthias whispered fiercely. They watched fearfully, blaster rifles and bowcaster at the ready. But Mission made not so much as a rustle. She bent down in the center of the pile and fiddled with something they couldn't see that had been in her hands. Grinning like a madwoman she practically skipped back to their hiding spot behind the door.

"What were you thinking of? You could've gotten killed!" said Carth.

"Haven't we had this discussion already old man? You ain't my father now just watch." For a full minute nothing happened. Then Zaalbar began to sniff at something in the air. The rancor began to sniff too, taking in great snorting lungfulls of the mysterious odor. It then stomped over to the corpse pile and rooted around in it for a minute and then popped one of the corpses in its mouth. There was a muffled thump and the creature let out a gurgling roar and fell to the ground, dead as a stone. Carth, Anaiya, Matthias and Zaalbar stared at Mission, dumbfounded. Matthias swept her up into a joyful embrace.

"I take it back Mission. You aren't a kid, you're the luckiest, canniest, most reckless Twi'lek I ever knew!"

"Yeah that's great Matthias," said a startled Mission, "Wanna put me down now? I aint a pilot and I don't fly real well."

"Oh, right sorry," said a thoroughly embarrassed Matthias.

"**Hey what's going on here?" **called out a voice. Two Black Vulkars were standing in the doorway at the far end of the nest.

"A warrior's work is never done," quipped Anaiya as she took aim with her rifle and fired.

* * *

Infiltrating the Vulkar base was laughably easier than what they'd had to do to get there. Half of the resident Vulkars were drunk stupid in the base's canteen and the other half were busy playing a rather violent game of pazaak in the barracks. It was child's play to avoid them. The only real danger came from patrolling battle droids, but these were so old and rusty that Anaiya and Matthias took a few out with their vibroblades.

Mission's hacking skills came in handy here as she hacked into the Vulkar's system and disabled the security protecting the swoop garage, the most likely hiding place of the prototype accelerator. They didn't have much more trouble in the garage either; surprise was on their side and any on duty Vulkars were swiftly silenced. The most difficult fight they had was with the Vulkars guarding the accelerator. A twi'lek named Kandon Ark was in charge of it and wasn't about to give it up without a fight. But thanks to Anaiya and Carth's quick draw skills the battle was over in less than a minute. Zaalbar with his wookie strength was tasked to carry the heavy accelerator while the others made sure the path was clear. The five adventurers walked out of the front doors of the Vulkar base without so much as being challenged. Matthias turned and directed a sardonic grin at the front of the base.

"You either got or you don't. And boys, you ain't even close," he quipped.

* * *

They quickly made their way back to the Hidden Bek base and were let in to see Gadon Thek without any fuss this time. Gadon raised his head from the stack of datapads he was reviewing with Zaerdra when he heard them approach.

"You're back. Do you have the prototype with you?"

Zaalbar placed the accelerator heavily onto Gadon's desk.

"One prototype swoop accelerator courtesy of the Black Vulkars," grinned Mission.

"Okay we held up our end of the deal; we got you your accelerator back. So what about your part of the bargain?" said Carth.

"Don't worry, I promised that you could ride in the race under the Hidden Bek banner and I'm still going to let you do that. In fact I'm going to go one better I'll allow one of you to ride the bike with the prototype installed on it," said Gadon.

"Gadon you can't be serious!" cried Zaerdra, "We need one of our best riders on that bike!"

"I agree. This seems…awfully generous of you," said Matthias. Gadon fixed them with a frank stare, his artificial eyes focusing.

"I have to be honest with you. There's a reason I'm letting you ride the prototype. It isn't entirely stable. My engineers said that there's a good chance that it could suffer a burn out on the track. But look at it this way. If you win, then we all win. And if you happen to die, then one of my own riders could still come through for me."

"Sounds like you've got your nerfs all in a row Gadon," said Carth.

"Heh, you don't get to be leader of a swoop gang unless you know how to work all the angles. Which leaves just one question: which one of you is going to ride the bike? I know it won't be Mission or Zalbaar so which of you three are willing?"

"I am," said Matthias quickly. The others stared at him with surprise.

"Why you?" asked Anaiya, "I'm a Jed… er a pilot, I have a much better chance of riding that bike and winning."

"That may be true but do you have any experience on a swoop bike? Carth and I have already had you risk enough for us. Please I can do this, trust me."

"And what experience do you have that makes you more qualified?"

"I rode one on Corellia once. I even won too."

"Oh that makes me feel so much better," said Anaiya, rolling her eyes.

"I have to agree with Anaiya here. We really ought to let her ride the bike," said Carth

"No insult to your skills Anaiya but what if we let you ride and you ride a little _too well_? People will ask questions and it could get complicated quickly."

Anaiya stared down Matthias for a minute or two and then gave a short nod of her head and walked off.

"If that's settled then I'll let all of you stay here at the base tonight so Mr. Starseeker can get some practice in and tomorrow morning we'll take him out to the track," said Gadon.

* * *

Anaiya watched as Matthias pulled the swoop bike to a stop at the end of the Beks' practice swoop track.

"Huh. Not bad Starseeker. I could do better of course, but you'll survive," she said.

"Thanks for the confidence booster. You really know how to charm a man Miss Jedi."

"Hey I've seen swoop racing on Malastare and Nar Shadaa so I'm well within my rights to criticize Mr. Starseeker."

"Nar Shadaa, Taris, you sure get around don't you?" said Matthias.

"I go where the Force, and my former Master, take me," she said stiffly.

She continued to watch him for a few more moments as he tinkered with the bike. She couldn't help but feel that there was something odd about this man, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Matthias finally noticed her staring and grinned.

"Do I have something on my face or something?"

"I don't suppose there's anything I could say that would convince you to give this up and let me ride?"

"Nope."

"I thought not. Typical male, always thinking they can do things better than a woman."

"Oh, so now you're bringing gender into it?"

"You just can't admit that there is no real reason that I _can't _ride."

"Look Anaiya… I can't really explain it but… I just have this gut feeling that this is something that I have to do. Trust me."

"I'm having trouble trusting someone who wasn't even aware enough to pick up my lightsaber."

"You're still mad about that? I'm sorry okay! But like I said, I was more worried about getting you out of there in one piece. You do know that if you had been standing just a little closer to that conduit, you would be kinda _dead_ right now?" Anaiya sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Yes, I know that and I am grateful to you for saving me but I just wish…"

"You really liked that lightsaber didn't you?"

"It was the first I ever built by myself as a conclusion to my training. It has… special memories. Had special memories." Matthias stood up from where he'd been working on the bike and laid a hand on Anaiya's shoulder.

"Hey, at least you still have the memories. That's more than some people have."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I had an accident a few months ago. Damaged my brain so that I've got a lot of gaps in my memory."

"I'm sorry. But the fact that you're brain-damaged explains a whole lot about you Matthias Starseeker."

"You just don't stop do you? You know, you don't act like any Jedi I've ever met. Why is that?"

Anaiya looked like she was about to say something but then stopped and said, "It's late and we should both get some sleep. I actually would be somewhat upset if you plastered yourself all over the track tomorrow due to lack of sleep."

"Well then, lead the way," said Matthias, smiling and gesturing for her to lead. Still, he had to wonder why it was that Anaiya hadn't wanted to answer his question. Perhaps another time.

* * *

As morning dawned over Taris and the light filtered its way down into the oily gloom of the Lower City, the arena for the big Taris Season Opener was already buzzing with activity. Long ago the stadium had been used for some sort of primitive racing sport but was now a swoop track.

In the younger days of swoop racing, swoop jockeys would race against each other, first across the finish line wins. However this, more often than not, resulted in the death of most of the racers. Then a bright young sentient came up with the idea that instead of racing against each other, the swoop jocks would race against their times. And so the modern era of swoop racing was created.

Anaiya, Carth, Mission and Zaalbar had accompanied Matthias into the swoop garage that was already crowded with other gang members swoops. As they prepared to send Matthias's swoop out for its first run, Matthias looked around, checking out the competition. His eyes fell on a Weequay racer that was having an animated conversation with some Twi'lek girls.

"**That's Redros, the Vulkar's best racer. He is rarely beaten," **said the Bek's Ithorian crew chief. Matthias raised an eyebrow as some of Redros' boastful comments made their way over to him.

"The bigger they are the harder they fall." He said.

* * *

The stadium was almost packed to capacity as Carth, Anaiya, Mission and Zaalbar found their seats in the Hidden Bek section of the grandstands. Anaiya privately wondered why the Sith weren't interfering. They probably just didn't care if it kept the gangs off the streets for a little while. A voice blared out of the speakers spaced around the stadium that spoke in both Huttese and Basic.

"Welcome to the Grand Swoop Racing Season Opener!"

"That's absolutely right and we have a big turnout today from all corners of the Outer Rim territories! And now here come our racers!"

The racers entered the stadium facing the crowd and then stood in a loose line, separated by personal and gang affiliations. Although the Taris Season Opener wasn't limited to natives, the Sith blockade had prevented many racers from coming. Predictably, the biggest groups of racers were the Black Vulkars and Hidden Beks. Mission cheered loudly when she saw Matthias down with the Bek racers. He was the easiest to spot because he was the cleanest looking of the bunch of racers.

"**And now…put your hands together for the sponsor of this great event! Taris' own Davik Kang!" **

Davik, who was wearing insanely expensive robes for the occasion stood up in his private viewing box across from the rest of the stadium and waved down to the crowd.

"Mr. Kang has graciously supplied a generous amount of credits as part of the Grand Champion's prize and several other exotic items! Speaking of which…"

A spotlight illuminated a darkened corner of the stadium; next to the Timekeeper's booth were the prizes provided by each entrant of the race. There was a mound of credits, exotic ales, fine clothes, expensive armor and weapons, illicit drugs, and in pride of place, a cage that contained… Matthias did a double take as he saw the woman who was inside. So this was the great Jedi Bastila that Carth and Anaiya had been going on about. She was slumped over in her cage, appearing to be breathing heavily. She was dressed up as a slave girl but what captivated Matthias most were her eyes. She had briefly looked up and for just a moment their eyes had met, he had felt something akin to an electrical shock shoot up his spine.

_You know, I never really thought about it but she's not just pretty, she's beautiful! _Matthias shook his head and when he looked up at the cage, Bastila was slumped over once more. _Get your head in the game Starseeker. If you're thinking about some girl you're gonna wind up as bantha poodoo!_

The race was to be conducted in a series of heats. Every racer had to run a mandatory qualifying race in order to continue on. If they didn't beat a time of 38 seconds, they were disqualified. When it came time for Matthias's run, he slipped his helmet on as the two-headed, dual-language announcer cried out his name and his gang. He briefly waved to his companions in the crowd and mounted his swoop. The reason swoops were so dangerous was that they were little more than giant thrust engines with repulsorlifts and hand controls. Most swoops had five gears that the pilot had to shift through to attain greater levels of speed. As Matthias stared down the track ahead of him, waiting for the starting lights to start blinking, he took stock. The track was littered with deadly chunks of debris and devices called boost pads, which were repulsor devices designed to give a boost of speed to the swoop passing over it.

Matthias sat hunched down on his bike, the engine roaring as the starting lights began to blink. Red three times, yellow twice, then…GREEN! The second the light flashed, Matthias mashed the accelerator and took off. Shooting over several gravity pads, he quickly shifted into second and then third gear. He stared intently down the track as he navigated between the obstacles on the track. He had left all his nervousness behind him at the starting line and it had been replaced with core of cold determination. He followed his instincts, the swoop seeming to slow as he bent his entire being into piloting this dangerous machine to the finish line. In her cage, Bastila twitched and looked around as if someone had touched her.

Matthias had crossed the finish line at 35 seconds, which was more than enough to qualify. Redros had finished at 34 seconds. It seemed that the race was going to be very close even this early in the game.

While the other racers ran their heats, Matthias had the Beks' Ithorian mechanic examine the swoop. The news was not good. The prototype was already starting to overheat. If he didn't set an unbeatable time soon, then he might not walk off this track alive.

* * *

His second heat saw him achieve an impressive time of 32.66 seconds faster than anyone else. The celebration was short lived as Redros eclipsed the mark by almost a full second at 31.74 seconds. Standing with the other Bek riders in the pits, Matthias watched as Redros swaggered arrogantly back to his Vulkar compatriots. Turning to the crew chief he said, "Is she ready to go again and perhaps not explode?"

"**The bike is ready and the accelerator should be good for one or two more heats."**

"You're instilling me with a whole lot of confidence friend."

"**Do not worry overmuch human. Redros was giving it his all out there. No one else will be able to best his time…except you."**

"No pressure huh?" said Matthias. The fact remained of course that if he wasn't able to beat Redros' time, then all was lost.

For the third time that day he sat astride his swoop as the starting lights blinked down to green. He looked left towards the stands. There was Carth, Mission, Anaiya and Zaalbar cheering for him. He gave them a two-finger victory salute and then, on an impulse looked to his right where the prizes and Bastila were. It seemed that she was looking at him again. Even though his head was covered he smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. She quickly turned away. He faced the track once more, breathing deeply as the lights flashed yellow, then green. He closed his eyes and opened the throttle. Here in this place he went when preparing to enter battle, there was no one but him and the finish line so far away. His eyes snapped open as he swerved around the debris and hit a boost pad.

Second gear.

Another boost pad.

Third gear.

More debris that he effortlessly skimmed by as by now he knew the track almost intimately. More boost pads driving him ever faster into the realms of speed only the suicidal go.

Fourth gear.

Alarms sounded on his control board. The accelerator was burning out. The engine was dangerously overheating, near to exploding. He swerved past a particularly jagged pile of speeder wreckage and hit another boost pad. He closed his eyes and reached for the shifter.

Fifth gear.

Two more boosts and he was speeding along so fast that everything was a mere blur. There was the finish line, so close, yet so far. The alarms were more insistent now with smoke pouring out of his intakes. He had to go for it. His onboard timer read 25 seconds.

Then disaster.

He clipped a piece of wreckage. The swoop started to vibrate violently and the alarms reached fever pitch. 28 seconds. Almost theeeeerrrrrreeeeee…

He screamed across the finish line, trailing thick black smoke behind him. His swoop hit the gravity field beyond and immediately began slowing to a stop. But Matthias wasn't waiting for that. Before the bike had stopped he threw off his harness and leapt clear. The bike exploded into flames as it slowly stopped, with Matthias well beyond it. He staggered to his feet and then yanked off his helmet. For a moment he just stood there panting as the crowd held it's breath. Then he threw up his arms in triumph and bellowed out a cry of victory. The crowd, including Anaiya and the others, joined with him roaring in approval.

As crewmen rushed out to put down the flaming swoop Matthias staggered slightly towards the Timekeeper, an elderly Duros. The Timekeeper held Matthias's arm aloft and spoke into his own microphone.

"**Hail the Grand Champion of the Taris Season Opener! Matthias Starseeker of the Hidden Beks, with the fastest time of all time! 30.26 seconds!"**

The crowd exploded into applause once more. Matthias held his arms aloft again yelling along with the crowd. The adrenaline still ran strong in his blood and right now he felt that he could take on an entire planet of rancors and win.

"**And here to present the champion with his prize,"** called out the announcer, **"is Brejik, leader of the Black Vulkars!"**

Brejik, a thin, weedy, dark-skinned man emerged from a side entrance that led to the private balconies with a murderous look on his face. He snatched the mike away from the Timekeeper and stood before the crowd.

"People, hear me!" he cried. Matthias thought that while Brejik may not look like much, he certainly had a lot of charisma.

"Before I present the so-called champion of the Beks with his prize, there is something you must know! The winning rider cheated!" Matthias felt anger, white hot, blaze up on the remaining surge of adrenaline in his body.

"You're a damn liar Brejik!" he shouted. Brejik shot him a look of pure venom and continued with his inflammatory speech.

"His swoop bike was equipped with a prototype accelerator! Clearly an unfair advantage!"

"The same accelerator you stole from the Beks in the first place," Matthias shouted back.

"Because of this Hidden Bek treachery, the Black Vulkars withdraw their share of the prize." There was an immediate uproar at these words. In the stands Anaiya jumped to her feet, her hands going for her blaster rifle but Carth's hand restrained her.

"Don't. The second someone pulls a weapon up here it'll be mass pandemonium."

The race officials were looking at Brejik in dumb astonishment.

"**Brejik you cannot do that!" **said the shocked Timekeeper,** "It violates all our most sacred traditions, traditions that have been in place far longer than you have been leader of the Black…"**

"Old fool! Your traditions are nothing to me! I am the wave of the future! If I want to take this woman and sell her on the galactic slave market, you certainly won't stop me!"

"I might have something to say about that Brejik," called out an icy voice. They all whipped around to see the door of Bastila's cage fly open, cracking the guard who was standing in front of it in the head. Bastila, who now had no trace of weariness or a neural disruptor collar on her, picked up the guard's double-bladed vibrosword.

"You! You were restrained by a neural disruptor! How in the nine hells of Corellia could you have possibly summoned the will to free yourself?" cried Brejik.

"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind Brejik. A mistake you won't live to regret." At those words Brejik's face twisted with hatred.

"Vulkars, to me!" he screamed, spittle flying out of his mouth, "Kill the woman! Kill the swoop rider! Kill them all!"

The situation quickly degenerated into an all out war, in both the stands and the pits. Snarling, Matthias whipped out his blaster pistol and vibroblade and waded into the oncoming Vulkars, adrenaline surging into his blood once more. He covered Bastila's back as the two engaged the Vulkars that had come to Brejik's defense. During a slight lull in the fighting, Matthias looked towards the stands and saw that the majority of the smaller gangs had turned against the Vulkars and were fighting alongside the Beks! Grinning fiercely he turned back to face his opponents, and was blindsided by Redros. Grinning evilly, Redros was about to jab his vibroknife into Matthias's throat when Bastila's sword stabbed into his back. Matthias leapt to his feet, shot her a look of gratitude, and then blasted a Vulkar that was trying to attack Bastila from behind. Now Brejik was alone, faced by Matthias and Bastila.

"You Bek scum! You cost me EVERYTHING!" he screamed at Matthias.

"Die!" screamed Matthias as he charged Brejik. But the Vulkar leader dodged nimbly to the side and swept his blaster up to shoot Matthias in the back. But Matthias whipped around with impressive speed and knocked the blaster out of Brejik's grip. Cursing, Brejik slipped a long metal rod out from behind his back. There was a familiar _snap-hiss _as the yellow double-bladed lightsaber ignited. Brejik swung wildly and it clipped Matthias's thigh. He cried out in agony and fell to the ground. Brejik turned to Bastila.

"I should've sold you on the slave market when I had the chance," he snarled. Raising the lightsaber towards her, his face twisted into an ugly leer, "It will be a shame to have to cut up such a fine body." Bastila scowled.

"Do you honestly think that you can defeat a Jedi with her own weapon?" she said as she dodged Brejik's thrust. Whipping her own blade around, she expertly disarmed him and then ran him through.

"You shall never harm anyone ever again," she said as Brejik slipped to the floor, her face showing neither triumph nor pity.

Matthias had gotten to his feet by now and was looking at Bastila with admiration. Not only beautiful but a damn good fighter too.

"Well maybe those bloody Vulkars will think twice about trying to hold a Jedi prisoner. And as for you," she said as she rounded on Matthias, "If you think that you can just collect me as some sort of prize…"

"Hold on there Miss Jedi, I think you've got me confused with someone else. My name is Matthias Starseeker, I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue me? Was that what you were trying to do, racing in that swoop competition? Well as far as rescues go, this is a pretty poor example." Matthias stared at her in dumb shock. What had she just said? He'd went through that nightmarish race, and everything that had happened before it and she wasn't even going to thank him?

"I think you've got it even more confused. You were a helpless prisoner before I came along."

"And as you saw, I was perfectly capable of freeing myself. Now what did you mean you're here to "rescue" me?"

"Well since you did watch my back in that fight, I think we can say that we saved each other's backs. Now let's get back to Carth and Anaiya."

"Carth Onasi's alive? That's good news. Carth is one of the Republic's best soldiers," she said, "Now we should get out of here, I sense that the Sith are about to arrive."

Bastila was right because just as she and Matthias left the stadium, Sith troops began pouring into the stadium to break the remaining skirmishes.

* * *

As Bastila and Matthias hurried away from the stadium, Matthias suddenly stumbled to the ground. Everything went hazy and then a gray fog swallowed him up.

_Bastila was fighting onboard a Sith starship, dueling fiercely with a dark Jedi. She moved with a fluid grace and her lightsaber swung in a constant arc as she blocked and parried. Finally, she saw an opening and took it. Slashing her saber across the Sith's wrist caused him to drop his saber. Bastila drew back her yellow blade and struck. With a dull thud, the corpse of the Sith collapsed to the deck. Bastila looked up and saw the Dark Lord standing before her only a few feet away, choking the life out of one of the red and yellow-clad Commandos. The young padawan was dismayed to see that the all of the Commandos had died fighting and it was only the Jedi left now. With a gesture, Revan tossed the now dead Republic soldier aside and faced his opponent. With a snap-hiss, his red lightsaber ignited while tendrils of electricity arced and curled around his free hand. Bastila swallowed her fear as she approached the Sith Lord._

"_You cannot win Revan!" she boldly claimed, raising her lightsaber. The other three Jedi rushed forward, having dispatched their own opponents. Revan snorted and flourished his lightsaber, ready for the attack._

"_If you truly think that you four Jedi can beat me, then by all means," said Revan as the dark side filled the bridge like a chocking pall, "come and get me now girl."_

_Bastila was just about to charge at the Sith Lord when the Force warned her to jump back, not forward. It was well that she heeded the Force for at that very moment, the world exploded._


	7. Chapter 6: Escape From Taris

**Chapter VI: Escaping Taris**

They had agreed, if anything happened at the race, that they would meet back at the Upper City apartment as soon as they could. As soon as Matthias and Bastila walked through the apartment door, Carth practically went into a fit of joy. Neither Matthias nor Anaiya had ever seen him look happier.

"Bastila you're alive! Finally, things are looking up! Now all we need to do is figure a way off of Taris."

"You mean you don't have a way off Taris by now? What have you been doing all this time?"

"Trying to find you remember?" said Matthias with palpable sarcasm in his voice. Bastila gave him a searching look before she continued.

"I see. Well now that I am back in charge of this mission, we can start doing things properly. Hopefully our escape from Taris will go more smoothly than when you "rescued" me from Brejik."

Seeing the potential explosion of anger coming from Matthias, Carth tried to head it off.

"I know you're new at this Bastila but a leader doesn't berate her troops just because things aren't going their way. Don't let your ego get in the way of the real issues here." Anaiya chimed in with, "You could be a little more grateful ma'am. Matthias risked his life for you and could've easily died out on that track."

"This hardly strikes me as an appropriate way of addressing your commander. I am a member of the Jedi Order and this is my mission. Don't forget that. My Battle Meditation has helped the Republic many times in this war and it will serve us well here I'm sure."

"Hey, you're not the only Jedi here you know," said Anaiya, hands on her hips. Bastila blinked at her a few times and then gasped softly in recognition.

"Anaiya! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you in those clothes."

Carth chose that moment to break in again.

"Your talents might win us a few battles but that doesn't make you a good leader! A good leader would at least listen to the advice of soldiers who have seen more combat then she ever will!"

At this point Matthias leapt up from where he was sitting and whistled loudly.

"Time out! BOTH of you settle down, this isn't helping."

Bastila looked startled at first but then she sighed and lowered her head apologetically.

"You're right of course. Forgive me but I've been under a certain amount of… stress recently. Of course I'm willing to listen to your advice. What do you suggest we do?"

"First of all," said Carth "we can't get hung up on who's in charge. We're gonna have to work together if we want to get out of here alive. The answers out there we just need to find it."

"Well said Carth," agreed Bastila, "And the sooner we start looking for it the better." She shivered very slightly, almost so slightly that it wasn't noticeable except to trained soldiers like Matthias and Carth.

"I've already been a prisoner of the Black Vulkars, I don't want to be captured by the Sith."

Matthias got up from where he was lounging on the couch, stretched and said, "Well I don't know about you guys but it's late, I'm tired, and there's a lot left to do. I say we start first thing in the morning yes?"

No one had any argument with this so the group split up. Bastila and Carth continued to discuss what had happened since they crash-landed on Taris. Mission and Zaalbar took Anaiya and Matthias to one of their favorite "secret spots" which was close to their apartment hideout. From the roof of the building, accessible by narrow and treacherous fire escapes, they could see a glorious sunset, flanked by the flitting lights of cloud cars and the glitter of the great skyscrapers just turning on their night lights.

"Even in the face of adversity there can be found beauty," quoted Matthias. Mission and Zaalbar giggled and Anaiya gave him a frank look.

"A soldier, swoop rider and a poet?"

"Can you do better sister?" said Matthias with a rakish grin. Anaiya then began to quote a line of verse in some strange, lilting language that Matthias was vaguely familiar with.

"What was that?" asked Mission.

"A Selonian poem my mother once taught me. Matthias, do you have something else to say?"

"Touché," said Matthias, rolling his eyes.

"You two fight like an old married couple," giggled Mission.

"Us?" cried out Matthias in surprise.

"Married?" spluttered Anaiya.

"Eugh!" they both said.

Matthias slept restlessly that night. He dreamed of Bastila fighting the Sith and Darth Revan again. What he didn't know was that Bastila was having the same dream, and it wasn't the first time.

-KOTOR-

The morning dawned bright and clear which was unusual for Taris. The party, with the addition of Bastila ate a quick breakfast and was out the door, ready to find a way off of Taris, by the tenth morning bell. Outside the door was a Twi'lek messenger. He approached Matthias and handed him a datapad and then quickly scurried away.

"What does it say?" asked Bastila.

"Canderous Ordo, Davik Kang's mercenary, wants to meet with me in the cantina as soon as possible. He says he saw me at the swoop race and has an offer that I can't refuse."

"We'd better check it out," said Carth, "The last thing we need is for that mandalorian thug to come looking for us.

-KOTOR-

Once they were on their way to the cantina, Bastila couldn't help but notice the funny looks that Matthias was giving her.

"Is something troubling you?" she asked.

"Something weird happened last night. I had a dream about you. More like a vision than anything else."

"A vision of what?"

"You were fighting a dark Jedi. Revan, I guess."

Bastila looked both thoughtful and a little bit concerned when Matthias said this. "That is strange. Such visions are often a sign of Force sensitivity."

"What do you mean?" asked Matthias.

"I'm not sure. It may be that you have some talent with the Force. It would not be unheard of that your talents fed off my own Force abilities and in the aftermath of the battle yesterday the Force allowed you to witness one of my more intense memories."

"This isn't the first time I've had a vision like this," said Matthias, "It happened right after I first woke up on Taris."

"The Force is complicated; even I with all my training do not fully understand it yet. This is a matter best left to the wise Masters of the Jedi Council. Once we escape Taris we can seek the guidance of the Council if you wish. They will be able to tell you the significance of your visions. If there is any. Right now we should stay focused on the task at hand."

"I have Force powers. Never would have saw that coming in a million years…" Matthias mumbled as they continued walking.

What nobody else saw, what no one without a connection to the Force could've felt was that, at that moment, Bastila was afraid for just a moment before her Jedi control slipped back into place.

-KOTOR-

The mandalorian was waiting close to the entrance of the cantina and spotted them as soon as they came in. Canderous ran his eye over the… interesting group of beings that stood before him. Two human males, two very attractive human females, a Twi'lek street urchin and a Wookie. All in all a very eclectic group. Canderous marched straight up to Matthias. Matthias was the just a couple of inches shy of Canderous' height and was capable of looking him in the eye, something that Canderous respected.

"I saw you in the swoop race. Very impressive. You seem like the kind of person who knows how to get results. Exactly the kind of person I'm looking for."

"What are you talking about?" asked Matthias warily.

"My name's Canderous Ordo. I work for Davik and the Exchange; the hours aren't great but the pay is good, and I don't have anything better to do. Mandalorian mercs like me are in high demand. But lately Davik hasn't been paying me what he promised. I don't like getting cheated, so I figure it's time to break the Sith quarantine and get off this backwater planet."

"Why are you telling us this?" said Matthias.

I have a plan to escape Taris but I can't do it alone. I need someone I know can get the job done and that's where you come in."

"Careful," warned Carth, "mercs like this don't have a lick of conscience. They'll betray you in a heartbeat. This could be a trap."

"I aint talking to you am I? I'm talking to your friend here," growled Canderous.

"When I saw how you won that swoop race," continued Canderous, "I started thinking. Anyone crazy enough to race like that is crazy enough to break into the Sith military base to steal the launch codes. Without them, any ship leaving Taris' atmosphere will be disintegrated by the Sith fleet's automated defense guns."

"Now why would me and my friends here be stupid enough to break into the base?

"Here's the real deal. Once you get those codes, I can provide you with the ship to make it off Taris; Davik's flagship, the _Ebon Hawk_!"

"And just how are we supposed to get into the base at all?" asked Anaiya.

"Getting in won't be easy; it has a top of the line encryption system. It would take a state of the art droid to slice through it. Fortunately for you, Davik was having one custom built by Janice Nall. Just tell her Canderous sent you and she'll give it to you. Normally I'd do this myself, but everyone knows who I work for. If I broke in, they'd send an army down on Davik's estate. That's why I need you."

Matthias paused for a moment, looking back at his companions. Ever since he came to this sithspawned planet it'd been one damn thing after another. First he had to find Bastila, then the swoop race and now a mandalorian mercenary was asking for his help. He definitely hadn't had this strange of a week in all his life!

"Canderous, you've got a deal," said Matthias, shaking the bigger man's hand.

"I don't sense any deception from him, which is surprising. This may be exactly what we need," said Bastila hopefully.

"I'll be waiting in Javyar's Cantina. Once you have those codes, come find me and we can get off this rock." Said Canderous. He left without another word.

-KOTOR-

As they made their way to the droid shop, Bastila said to Matthias, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure."

"I would like to ask you some more about what happened to you after the crash. I spoke with Carth last night but I'm curious to as to your perspective of events after the crash."

"Before we rescued you, you mean," said Matthias. There was no way he was going to let her get off that easy after the hell he'd been through the last couple of days!

"I managed to free myself as I recall. If I hadn't been there, Brejik might've killed you in that fight. It's probably more accurate to say I rescued you.

_And the gauntlet is thrown._

"You didn't manage to free yourself until after we arrived as I recall," said Matthias, pressing his advantage.

"I'll admit that I probably wouldn't have been able to successfully escape if not for the brawl after the swoop race. I should thank you for that at least." Before Matthias could make an indignant reply, she continued, "Actually you presence at the track is what I'm most curious about. It couldn't have been easy to find me there, yet you managed it. You also avoided detection by the Sith, discovered I was a Vulkar prisoner, gained sponsorship for the race and became the Taris Swoop Champion. That's quite a resume."

Gratified that he had finally impressed Bastila, Matthias said, "Don't forget the Rancor. But we had Mission with us to handle that and I probably wouldn't have been able to do it without the others."

"Your modesty is admirable but though others helped, you were the catalyst for these events. When you were chosen to join this mission, none of us expected this much from you. A Jedi could have done such things of course, but only by drawing heavily upon the Force.

"I think you may be underestimating us non-Jedi."

"Perhaps but the Force works through us all in one degree or another. There are some individuals who grow up outside of the Order whom we refer to as Force Sensitives. It is obvious to me that the Force has been working through you, I can see no other reason for your great success though I am not certain what to make of this discovery. Perhaps if you were… well if you were younger the Jedi might consider you for training.

"Wait a minute, are you saying that the I could become Jedi?" asked Matthias.

"Wait a minute, you want to make _him, _a Jedi trainee?" asked Anaiya in astonishment. Bastila shot Anaiya a hastily concealed look of annoyance but quickly composed herself.

"Wassamater, Anaiya? Don't think that I'm good enough for the Jedi?"

"No, I just don't want to see you do something stupid like chop your leg off with a lightsaber," she retorted. Bastila made a coughing noise, trying to get the two's attention again.

"In any case these things are best left to the Jedi Council. For now, let's just accept the fact that you are… gifted. Hopefully between your talents, Anaiya and I's Jedi training and the skills of our companions we will be able to escape this world."

"I've been wondering something myself Bastila," chimed in Carth, "you sorta dodged this question last night. How did the Vulkars even manage to capture you in the first place? Were you unconscious?"

"No I wasn't. But my Force powers were exhausted from the battle. Without my help you may not have gotten off the ship alive."

"Fair enough," said Carth, "But I've seen you Jedi in action, there's no way they could have been able to get past your lightsaber."

Bastila instantly began to look genuinely embarrassed, not all the Jedi training in the galaxy able to hide it.

"My lightsaber was… misplaced. The Vulkars came and overwhelmed me even as I was searching for my weapon.

"Wait a minute, let me get this straight," said Carth, struggling not to laugh, "You _lost_ your lightsaber? I mean, isn't that a violation of some kind of Jedi code or something?"

"Of all the Jedi in the galaxy why do we get the one who's absent-minded," said Matthias grinning.

Bastila couldn't believe all of the party trying not to laugh out loud. Zaalbar was the only one who didn't seem to get the joke!

"This is no laughing matter! It must have… it must have fallen off my belt and rolled somewhere I couldn't get at."

"Hey, hey, hey, don't get mad. I'm sorry," said Carth in what he hoped was a humor free tone, "It's just funny to think of a legendary Jedi losing her lightsaber. Take my advice, this is one detail you should keep out of the history texts."

"I hardly consider myself a legend Carth. Though I will consider what you say when I report to the Jedi Council. There is no need for the them to know every detail of what transpired."

Mission couldn't help herself at that point and burst out laughing. Matthias shook his head and added, "First Anaiya, now you. Missing lightsabers seems to be an epidemic lately." He instantly regretted his ill-timed joke when Anaiya rounded on him with a look of complete indignation.

"You! I take it back, I have NOT forgiven you for losing my lightsaber!"

And so the long day wore on.

-KOTOR-

Purchasing the droid, an advanced astromech by the name of T3-M4, drained them of 2,000 credits. The little droid seemed quite eager to show of its capabilities and gained immediate respect from the party by rewiring the electrical system in the apartment to get the heater going.

They spent the night hammering out a plan to get into the military base. T3 proved invaluable again by hacking into the planetary information network. It turned out that most of the bulk of Sith troopers on the planet were spread throughout Taris. There was only a minimal garrison at the base. The Sith were counting on the simple fact that no one would be dumb enough to try a break in. Well no one besides Matthias, Carth and Company.

There was only one part of the plan that Bastila strongly objected too and that was the fact that she wouldn't be going.

"If the Sith officers recognize you, they'll institute a planetary mobilization and then we'll be caught for sure!" said Carth. It took arguments from both him and Matthias before Bastila finally backed down and went to staring out the window. Mission was also angry at being left behind, especially since Zaalbar was going.

"I've been surviving here on Taris for years! Stop treating me like a kid!"

"Mission, said Anaiya, kneeling down she was eye to eye with the younger girl, "That's not why we want to leave you behind. If something goes wrong over there, we need you to be Bastila's guide, to help her hide until another opportunity for escape comes along. Who was the one who helped us break into the Vulkar base after all?"

"OK, I'll do it," said Mission, a look of determination on her face.

Things also got sour when Anaiya humbly asked Bastila to borrow the other woman's lightsaber for the mission and Carth and Matthias simultaneously said, "No lightsabers!"

As everyone was getting ready for bed, Matthias sidled up next to Bastila, who was still looking out the window.

"You should relax dear heart, we'll be in and out of there faster than you can say Galactic Senate," he said with a rakish grin. Bastila shot him a withering look, "Don't call me that. I'm not so worried about you failing tomorrow it's… I can feel a dark disturbance in the Force. I fear that if we do not get off this planet soon, we never will."

-KOTOR-

They left in the early morning hoping to arrive just after the shift change when the newly woken troopers were going on duty and the tired one were coming off. They were a strange group, the two Republic soldiers, the lightsaber-less, robe-less Jedi, the Wookie and the droid. They were all carrying as much weaponry as they could, blasters grenades, and vibroblades. Even T3 was packing a pair of blasters, another of the 'modifications' that had been built into the droid. Bastila watched them go.

"May the Force be with you," she said. Matthias turned and gave her a thumbs up. Shaking her head, she went back inside. Upon entering the apartment, she called for Mission. Getting no response, she cast out her senses, and then sighed in annoyance. The girl was gone, and there was only one place she could be.

-KOTOR-

Getting into the base was almost laughably easy. It was kind of scary how good T3-M4 was at picking security locks and hacking computers. Once they got in through the front door was when the real scheme would begin. Their plan was to pose as a bunch of bounty hunters and Zaalbar would play the part of a criminal they had captured. Zaalbar's binders would be unlocked however.

When they walked into the reception area the Twi'lek secretary was instantly suspicious but a little roaring from Zaalbar and a promise to let her leave before the shooting started got her out of the fast. T3 went to work immediately, hacking the computers and downloading a map of the base. They figured that only one person would be holding the all-important codes and that would be the military governor that the Sith had put in charge. T3 displayed the map on the screen and a red line traced the most effective and safest route to the governor's office. There was only one small problem. The elevator to the office was guarded by a shielded war droid.

"How's that shield disruptor working T3?" asked Anaiya.

T3 hooted an affirmative.

-KOTOR-

The doors cycled open and the war droid sprang to life, activating its shield. A pair of grenades came rolling across the floor and bounced against the shield. These weren't ordinary grenades though, they were ion grenades. Their combined blast took out the shield and shorted out half the droid's systems. Matthias, Carth, Anaiya, Zaalbar and T3 came charging in blasters blazing and the war droid slumped to the floor a moment later, its once shiny armor now blackened and ravaged. Matthias nudged it with the toe of his boot.

"Wasn't so hard. Now the real fun begins."

"Trust me, this governor probably won't be that hard to intimidate," said Anaiya, "I know their type. All sound and fury but no actual substance to them."

That assumption was proved wrong when they stepped out of the elevator and into the governor's office. The governor was a fit young man with a bald head and the armor of a Sith acolyte. He had been sitting behind his desk in a meditative position when they came in. Both Matthias and Anaiya could feel a sense of stomach churning unease when they saw him that had nothing to do with nerves. Matthias wondered if this what the Dark Side felt like?

"Who dares disrupt my meditation? You'll pay for interrupting my…" the governor paused staring directly at Matthias and Anaiya, "I sense that the Force is strong in you. Both of you. Who would have thought that Force adepts could be found on this pathetic planet?"

"How about you hand over those launch codes and we'll only stun you?" said Carth, pointing his blasters at the governor. The man only smirked and made a gesture with his hand. Their blasters flew out of their hands and landed behind the Sith. Anaiya and Matthias glanced worriedly at each other. They hadn't counted on the governor to be able to use the Force; looks like they should've brought Bastila after all.

The opening of the turbolift doors caused everyone to look towards the lift. A grenade came sailing out as a high-pitched voice cried, "Take that!"

The governor used the Force to knock the grenade aside into a window, which it promptly blew out. To everyone's astonishment, Mission came tumbling through the lift doors and aimed her blaster at the governor. Unfortunately her shots only blackened the Sith's silver armor. Snarling, the governor picked up a vibrodagger from his desk and hurled it at Mission. Mission gasped as she watched the dagger fly towards her. Then Matthias's body was in front of her. There was a sickening sound of cloth ripping and a wet sound of slicing. Matthias bit off a yell as he sank to his knees, the dagger sticking out his chest. Zaalbar roared loud enough to rattle the transparisteel windows and charged the governor. Carth followed him as T3 activated his blasters. Anaiya and Mission supported Matthias as he slumped down onto the floor.

"Anaiya I can take care of myself. Go help Carth and Zaalbar. Go!" Not wanting to argue the point, Anaiya turned and slid her vibroblade out its sheath. With a wild cry, she charged into the fray. Matthias cast his eyes at Mission who was staring at him in shock.

"Matthias I didn't…" he silenced her with a finger on her mouth.

"Help me get this thing out and then give me a Medpac. We'll talk about this when we get out of here young missy and that's a promise."

Meanwhile Carth and the others were not doing so good themselves. Carth wasn't as good with blades as he was with blasters and the Sith governor was now armed with a double-bladed vibroblade. The governor was dueling the three of them with ease. Even blocking Zaalbar's ferociously powerful blows with skillful parries. Anaiya charged in just as the governor Force-pushed Zaalbar away. He met Anaiya's slash with a block and used the other end of his weapon to stab at Carth. Ducking under some blaster shots from Matthias, the governor then turned and whirled his blade at Anaiya. Anaiya wasn't as quick as the Sith and the governor cackled maniacally as he stabbed straight for the opening in her defense, straight for her heart. And then Carth was there, the vibroblade slashing across his chest, blood fountaining out. Half roaring with rage, half gasping in pain, Carth hurled his blade at the governor, the Sith Acolyte redirecting it in mid-flight at Matthias, who promptly parried it.

"Why'd you do that idiot?" asked Anaiya.

"Makes us even beautiful."

Matthias, angered that Carth had now been injured, went on the offensive, slashing, and swiping at the governor's double blade. Zaalbar rejoined the fray with a mighty Wookie roar and slashed down at the governor. Blocking a slash from Matthias, the governor was unable to turn away in time and Zaalbar's blow severed his weapon in half, the one half falling to the floor. Snarling in rage, the governor spun and slashed out with his remaining blade, cutting Zaalbar's blade off the hilt. The governor then stabbed the Wookie in the side.

"NO!" screamed Mission.

Matthias reacted without thinking. He thrust out his hand at the same time as Anaiya slashed with her sword. The Sith governor felt as if a wall of air had just hit him and was lifted off his feet, hurtling to the back of his office into the window… the window that was no longer there…

Matthias, Anaiya, Carth and Mission peered out the window as the already distant figure of the governor flailed and twisted in the air as he fell down, down, down.

"From this height that fall'll last a couple of minutes at least," remarked Mission.

"Good," said Carth pointedly in between ragged breaths. Matthias clutched the wound in his chest, which had begun to bleed again under the kolto bandage.

"Let's get those codes and get the hell out of here."

-KOTOR-

Bastila was not at all pleased when Mission and Zaalbar arrived back at the apartment to take her to Zelka Forn's clinic where Matthias Carth and Anaiya were being treated for their wounds. Her severe look softened when she saw how badly the three had been injured. Placing her hands on Matthias's chest she began to use the Force to heal him.

"Mmmm, that feels good. You know you can do that when I'm not bleeding to death as well." Bastila simply shot him an annoyed glare but it softened into something more neutral as Matthias simply smiled at her.

Anaiya and Carth were lying next to each other on a pair of gurneys. Carth's chest was wrapped in bandages whilst Anaiya's foot was encased in a splint.

"Carth, are you awake?" she asked.

"I'm all ears beautiful," he responded.

"Are you flirting with me Commander?"

"Depends. Do you have something else you prefer being called?"

"I like beautiful."

"How about me? What would you call me," he said with a rakish grin.

"How about 'handsome thug'?"

"I dunno, I like the handsome part but where'd you get the 'thug'?"

"Well you've been acting a bit thuggish towards Matthias and I all this time, Matthias especially." Carth had the decency to look embarrassed at this.

"Look it's not you or Matthias, it's just…"

"Just what?"

Carth and Anaiya turned to see Matthias, his chest likewise swathed in bandages, standing in the doorway.

"Continue Carth, I'd like to hear this too."

"Well, I've been betrayed before by people I trusted my life to and, well, it won't happen again."

"I don't understand you Carth. I don't understand where this is all coming from," said Anaiya.

"You two must be the most damn persistent people I've ever met! All right, you want to know so bad? Well here it goes."

"Five years ago we'd just finished the war with the Mandalorians. Revan and Malak were heroes. I was damn proud to have served in their fleet. It was completely unexpected when they turned on us, attacking us when we were still weak. Our heroes had become brutal, conquering Sith seemingly overnight. And it wasn't even just that. There were others who weren't Jedi, good, solid, trusted men who turned. Revan, Malak and the Sith deserve to die for what they've done, but the ones who were former Republic soldiers are even worse. The Dark Side has nothing to do with why they fell! They deserve NO mercy!"

"You say that with such… hatred," said Anaiya

"Well there's more to it than that, but I don't want to talk about it right now. Can we please pick it up later when my head's not swimming in kolto?"

Both Matthias and Anaiya nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for telling us Carth," said Matthias.

-KOTOR-

"Mission, we need to have a little chat," said Matthias. They were back in the apartment now after Carth, Anaiya and Matthias had been discharged. Mission looked like she was about to cry.

"We told you to stay here! You could've botched the whole plan sneaking around like that!" Tears really did start trickling out of her eyes then.

"I was just trying to help. I'm sick of everyone treating my like a helpless kid," she mumbled. Carth knelt down and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Mission listen to me. We don't think you're helpless but take a good long look at what we're doing. You're not just along for the ride here! We need you."

"We couldn't have gotten into the Black Vulkar base without you, remember?" said Anaiya as she smiled kindly at Mission. She looked up at them, slightly stunned.

"You really mean it don't you?"

"We do," said Matthias.

"No one's ever said that to me before, not even Big Z. He might think it, you know, but he's not really one for words. Thanks guys."

"Ah no big deal," said Carth, "I know how it is. Sometimes you just need a little encouragement. Kids are like that."

"Kids are like that? Listen you… oh, I get it. Okay you got me. You're pretty funny for and old guy Carth."

"I'm not that old," he mumbled.

-KOTOR-

The next morning they made a quick stop at the Outcast village before taking the codes to Canderous. When Matthias gave the three journals to Rukil, the old man was ecstatic, especially for a 100+ year-old man. He immediately took the journals to Gendar, the leader of the village.

"What is it now Rukil? More fables of a lost paradise just waiting for us to find?" said Gendar.

"You may not believe they are stories when you have seen what I brought you. Look at these journals!" Gendar perused them for several minutes, his expression gradually changing from skepticism to shock.

"No… are these for real Rukil? Is this information accurate?"

"The Promised Land Gendar! I told you I'd find it one day!"

The Outcasts made immediate preparations to leave. They had so few possessions, that they were all ready to go in an hour. It would be a dangerous journey, but the thought of what a Promised Land hermetically sealed away from the rest of Taris had filled their spirits with the flame of courage. At the gates to the village, Rukil, leaning on a cane, but with the restless energy of a younger man about him, bid the party a final farewell.

"Here is where we part ways, likely forever. Thank you for all you have done for us Matthias Starseeker, Carth Onasi and Anaiya Brightstar. We will never forget what you did for us. Farewell."

And so the Outcasts left their village on their journey to their Promised Land and a brighter future.

On their way back to the Lower City, Bastila turned to Matthias and Anaiya, smiling in approval.

"You did a great and noble thing for these people. When we get off this planet I will tell the Jedi Council what you did here."

Matthias was so proud that Bastila was pleased with them he didn't even offer a smart remark, just returned Bastila's smile. Although he didn't know it, for just a moment Bastila felt something within her flutter at his smile.

-KOTOR-

Javyar's Cantina was just as decrepit and smelly as the last time they had been in there. Mission quickly located Canderous sitting at a table in the back, in the dimmest corner of the place. He grinned widely when he saw them.

"I figured you'd be back. None of us are getting off this planet unless we work together. Now I know that the military base had a break-in. I know you've got those codes I need. So what do you say? Shall we team up?"

Matthias glanced at Carth and Bastila before he answered.

"You're on Canderous. What's you're plan?"

"Davik's always looking to recruit new talent. He saw you win the swoop race and I've mentioned that you'd be interested in working for the Exchange. I'll say that I brought you in so he could check you out. He'll have you stay at his estate for a few days while he does a background profile on you-that's standard procedure."

"I don't like this. It's too risky," said Bastila

"You got another plan sister? Or are you just mad you didn't think of this one?" shot back Canderous.

"No, we don't have another plan. But I'd rather not place my life and the lives of my comrades in your hands."

"I could say the same thing about you so that makes us even. Fortunately we both want to get off this rock." Turning back to face Matthias he said, "While Davik's checking you out, we steal the _Ebon Hawk_ right out from under his nose! Come on, I've got a speeder waiting outside, but it can only seat two extra so you'd better hurry up and chose two to go with us."

"Carth and Bastila," said Matthias. As they got up to leave, Matthias said to Anaiya, "Gather the rest of our stuff and be ready for a quick getaway on the roof."

"You can count on me," she said with a wink.

Canderous, Matthias, Bastila and Carth climbed into the opulent landspeeder that was parked outside and decorated with Davik Kang's symbol and sped off for his estate.

-KOTOR-

In high orbit of Taris, the Sith fleet circled the world like a pack of Firaxan sharks circling prey. The lead ship off the fleet was the _Leviathan_, the flagship of Admiral Saul Karath, commander of the Sith Fleet. It was an infamous ship, being the vessel that had destroyed Darth Revan's ship and the vessel that had led the bombardment of Telos.

On the bridge of the ship, Darth Malak, Dark Lord of the Sith, stared out at the planet below him with dull, yellowed eyes. He was a tall, bald man dressed in a personalized set of body armor the color of blood. He wore a grey cape that was fastened over his right shoulder and at his hips. Long before the Mandalorian War, he had had a set of tattoos inked across his head. At some point they must have been a bluish color but were now dull and faded like his eyes. Admiral Saul Karath, in full military uniform, stood at attention behind and a little to the left of the Sith Lord.

"You summoned me Lord Malak?"

"The search for Bastila is taking to long," said Malak. The metal half mask he wore across his mouth lent a malevolent mechanical buzz to his already deep voice.

"We cannot risk her escaping. Destroy the entire planet."

"The entire planet my Lord? But there are billions of people on Taris! We'd be slaughtering countless numbers of civilians not to mention our own men still on the surface."

Your predecessor once made the mistake of questioning my orders Admiral. Surely you are not so foolish as to make the same mistake?"

"I… no, Lord Malak, I will do as you command, but it will take several hours to position our fleet."

"Then begin immediately! You are dismissed Admiral."

"As you wish Lord Malak."

As the Admiral marched back across the bridge to begin carrying out his orders, Malak returned to staring at the planet whose death sentence he had just signed.

-KOTOR-

Davik's estate was possibly the most opulent residence on Taris, better than even the richer nobles certainly. Davik himself was a tall man, shorter than Matthias though, dressed in elaborate robes of purple, white and black. Purple seemed to be a favorite color of his because it was displayed prominently throughout his entire estate. Davik was older than Matthias had thought with thinning grey hair and calculating eyes. At the corners of his eyes was a pair of small tattoos, the skin wrinkled, suggesting that he had acquired them in his youth. Matthias had been confident at this meeting, expecting that they would have an excellent chance of talking their way past the crime lord but his mood descended from optimism to cautiousness when he saw the person standing next to Davik. The short, bullish figure of Calo Nord stood beside Davik, coldly regarding the people who had just entered Davik's throne room.

"Ah Canderous you're back! And not alone I see. This is unusual for you; you usually travel alone." Matthias noted that Davik had an accent that he hadn't heard on Taris before, possibly a sign that he was an offworlder the Exchange had set up here.

"It's not like you to take on partners Canderous," said Calo in his nasal voice, "You're getting soft."

"Watch yourself Calo. You may be the newest Kath hound in the pack, but you aren't top dog yet!"

"Enough! I won't have my top two men killing each other! It's not good business. I'm sure Canderous has a good reason as to why he's not flying solo anymore."

"This is a special case Davik. I ran into this guy after the swoop race and thought he might be someone the Exchange would like to recruit."

"Ah yes, now I recognize your companion; Matthias Starseeker, the man who won the Taris Season Opener. Very intriguing if I do say so myself. And these are?" Davik said, nodding to Carth and Bastila.

"This is the slave girl the Vulkars put up as their prize," said Matthias as he reached around Bastila's waist and pulled her to him. She shot him a look that promised dire retribution for this impropriety.

"And this is Carth, my bodyguard."

"I see. You were quite impressive in that race as well as the rather heated battle afterwards."

"Well Brejik had to learn that double-crossers tend to end up dead," said Matthias.

"That's true enough Mr. Starseeker. I believe Canderous is right. We could use someone like you. With the recommendation from Canderous, and a thorough background check, you could become part of the Exchange. Many would kill to prove themselves worthy of this honor!"

"Your offer intrigues me Davik."

"Come, I will give you a tour of my operations. I'm certain you will be most impressed," said Davik as he put his arm around Matthias's shoulders and led the way into the rest of his estate.

They viewed almost the entire, extremely extensive, complex. Matthias did note that they avoided one area in particular. As the last stop on the tour, Davik took them in the hangar to show them the _Ebon Hawk_.

"Here she is, my pride and joy, the _Ebon Hawk_, the fastest ship in the Outer Rim territories! Note the state of the art security systems I've had installed to protect her. The shields are completely impregnable. No one can get past them without the codes to try and steal my baby. Unfortunately the Sith blockade has grounded her. I am, of course, working on acquiring the departure codes so I may come and go as I wish. Has there been any development on that end Canderous?"

Like a true warrior, Canderous did not give himself away with any secret gestures at Matthias.

"I think we'll start seeing some progress on that real soon Davik."

"Good, good. For now, let's move on."

Davik led them into his guest wing and set them up in a lavish suite of rooms that was about 100 times more opulent than the apartment they'd been staying in.

"These will be your accommodations. You will stay in these rooms as my guest for the next few days. I will not take no for an answer. When the investigation into your background is complete, you will be invited to join the Exchange. I advise you to accept the offer when it comes, or suffer the dire consequences of refusal."

"I'm looking forward to working with you Davik," said Matthias, shaking the crime lord's hand.

"Come Calo, let us leave our guests in peace." Davik and Calo left the room, shutting the actual wooden door behind them.

"I don't trust them Davik. Especially not Canderous. I heard that there's been a break-in at the Sith base and there was no sign that he was involved."

"I'm sure all will be made clear Calo, I'm a bit suspicious of Mr. Starseeker myself. We'll see what the investigation turns up."

Inside the room, Canderous popped a power pack into his ridiculously oversize blaster rifle.

"Ok, we're inside. Now we just have to figure out a way to crack the security around the _Ebon Hawk_ and we'll pick up the rest of your group and get off this blasted planet! The sooner the better."

"I agree," said Bastila, "Both Davik and Calo Nord are very suspicious of us. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible."

"Let's go then," said Carth, holstering his blaster pistols.

"Also I would appreciate it Matthias, If you didn't touch me like that again," said Bastila in an icy tone.

"What? Oh that. That was just… acting, miss Shan," Matthias said with a grin. Bastila just stared icily at him.

"You should be flattered woman. Honestly, I don't know what he sees in you," remarked Canderous.

-KOTOR-

The most obvious place to begin their search was in the annex that Davik had deliberately steered them away from. A concentration of guards at a particular room was also somewhat of a clue. Using a Jedi mind trick, Bastila distracted the guards long enough for Matthias and Carth to knock them out.

The room was Davik's 'interrogation' room. As they entered a pair of floating torture droids wheeled around and opened fire on them. As Bastila used her lightsaber to deflect the bolts, Canderous opened up with his rifle, shredding the droids into piles of burnt components.

Seeing that there was someone trapped inside a torture field, Bastila quickly moved to the control panel and deactivated the device; Matthias and Carth helped the man out. He was pale and shaking all over. After giving him some water and letting Bastila use some type of Force technique on him, he finally spoke up.

"Thank you for getting me out of that torture cage. I would've gone mad if I'd stayed in their much longer." Looking directly at Matthias, he slipped a datapad out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"I used to be the pilot of Davik's ship, the _Ebon Hawk_. Before he threw me in here that is. Damn stinking son of a Hutt. I get boarded one time by the Sith and this is how he repays my years of service? Well the hell with him. These are the codes to the security systems guarding the _Hawk_. You can steal it right out from under his nose! Ransom it back to Davik, sell it to the highest bidder, whatever you do, you'll make thousands! I'd better get out of here before Davik finds out what happened here." With that, the former pilot limped out of the room.

"We got we came for, let's get going," said Canderous gruffly.

As they left the room, Carth said, "That wasn't so hard."

"Don't jinx it," warned Matthias.

Five minutes later they entered a security anteroom on their way to the hangar that was filled with guards.

"You jinxed it!" hissed Matthias as they raised their weapons. Canderous opened up with his rifle again, cutting down six guards before they could fire their own weapons. Bastila leapt in to the heart of the fray, whirling and ducking, her lightsaber strobing twin streams of yellow light as she moved. Matthias nearly took a blaster bolt to the head because he was distracted by Bastila's display. He admired the way she could weave in and out of the blaster bolts and how she expertly parried each volley against her. He knew that Jedi were good but he'd never seen one fighting up close before.

Recovering himself he leveled his rifle and blasted the last of Davik's mercenaries before he could shoot Carth in the back.

"Let's take care of that security," said Matthias, accessing the single terminal in the room. He was not as good as Mission and not even close to T3's slicing capabilities but after a few minutes he was able to log in.

"Now just to enter the codes…"

He tapped in the codes. The computer beeped and then returned to the main menu.

"The _Ebon Hawk_ is ours! Hey, do you hear that?"

"Is that thunder?" asked Carth. A muffled booming sound was echoing from outside and sounded very much like thunder.

"That's odd. It didn't seem stormy when we arrived here," said Bastila. As they listened, Matthias, Carth and Canderous's faces began to grow taut with fear.

"That's not thunder," said Carth.

"Orbital bombardment!" exclaimed Matthias. Canderous spat out a curse in Mando'a.

"Let's get that damn ship and get the hell out of here!"

They raced through the door. It was only a short run from the anteroom to the door of Davik's private hangar. Unfortunately, just as they stepped through the heavy blast door, several things happened at once. Turbolaser blasts began striking very close to where they were standing, causing the building to shake to its foundations. At the same time, Davik and Calo entered the hangar from the opposite side. Davik was now wearing some glossy violet battle armor and had a large blaster strapped to his side.

"Damn those Sith! They're bombing the whole planet! I knew they'd turn on us sooner or…" he trailed off as he noticed the four interlopers in the hangar. His face went from surprise to anger in seconds.

"Well, what do we have here? Thieves in the hangar?"

They were now facing each other across the hangar, only a few meters apart. Calo had not drawn his blasters but his hands moved ever so slightly towards the holsters and Matthias, Carth and Canderous were well aware of Calo's speed.

"So you thought you'd just steal my ship for your get-away while the Sith turn the planet into dust Canderous? Sorry, but that ain't gonna happen!" said Davik.

"You don't pay me enough as it is to want to die with you old man!" spat Canderous, leveling his rifle.

"I'll take care of them Davik," said Calo, drawing his twin blasters, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"Make it quick Calo, the Sith mean business. If we don't get to the ship and find somewhere safe, they'll kill us all," said Davik.

"Die you midget freak!" snarled Canderous as he opened up with the huge repeater.

"Cover me!" said Bastila, igniting her lightsaber with the familiar _snap-hiss _and leaping towards Davik and Calo. While Matthias and Carth fired at both of them, Bastila attacked Davik, whirling her saber staff to deflect his bolts. Davik paused, surprised at the appearance of the lightsaber and this was his undoing. Bastila pirouetted and the two halves of Davik's blaster clattered to the floor. An expert blaster shot from Carth caused the old crime lord to sink to his knees, clutching at his arm.

Now that Davik was temporarily out of the fight, Bastila turned her attention to Calo, who was incredibly avoiding the blasterfire from Carth, Matthias and Canderous. With a simple tug of the force, Bastila disarmed the little man. Seeing his blasters tumble to the floor at the Jedi's feet, Calo thrust a hand into his jacket and whipped out a silver orb, causing everyone in the hangar to freeze in their tracks. Calo's face was as emotionless as ever as he placed his thumb on the trigger on the top of the orb.

"You may have me outnumbered and outgunned, but if I go down, I'm taking all of you with me. This thermal detonator will blow us all to bits."

"Calo don't be stupid, you'll kill us both!" cried Davik in shock. At that moment a turbolaser blast struck close to the building causing the entire hangar to heave violently and bits of the ceiling to fall to the floor.

"Damn those Sith!" cursed Calo, "They'll bring this whole hangar down around our ears!"

At that moment another turbolaser blast struck part of the building itself. Bastila, warned by the Force, turned, grabbed, Carth and Matthias and pulled them to the ground out of the way. Canderous simply dived aside. When the dust settled, the quartet got to their feet and surveyed the damage. Part of the hangar had indeed caved in.

Davik lay dead a few feet away, killed by a falling chunk of duracrete. Calo Nord was buried somewhere in the debris of the former roof. Another turbolaser volley struck to close for comfort, rattling the building and causing more debris to fall.

"Let's leave now, I'd rather not join Davik and Calo here," said Canderous. They didn't need telling twice. They charged up the ramp of the _Ebon Hawk_. Inside the cockpit, Bastila and Carth seated themselves in the forward pilot seats. Carth's hands were moving over the controls almost as fast as Bastila's, moving through a routine that had become second nature.

The _Hawk_'s mighty twin engines roared to life. Repulsorlifts raised the light freighter off the deck and oriented it to face the open hangar.

"Hang on to something!" said Carth, ratcheting the throttle to full open. With a roar the _Ebon Hawk_ soared out of the hangar and into the skies of Taris, skies that were now filled with ruby red turbolaser blasts, literally a rain of death.

-KOTOR-

The Bridge of the _Leviathan_ was a flurry of activity. Admiral Karath strode along the central walkway, glancing at the officers on his left and right, making sure they were doing their jobs as efficiently as possible. There would be nothing less on the flagship of the Sith fleet, not while Lord Malak was on board.

Darth Malak was still standing exactly where the Admiral had left him, staring out the forward viewports, arms folded across his chest.

"Taris is defenseless against our assault Lord Malak. They are offering no resistance. The city is in ruins."

Malak stared down at the world, feeling the disturbance in the Force caused by the death of the thousands below, his eyes burning with the bloodshot yellow of the Sith.

"Resume the bombardment Admiral. Wipe this pathetic planet from the face off the galaxy."

The Sith cruisers opened fire once more, the turbolaser cannons mounted on their sides sending brilliant needles of ruby fire down through the atmosphere. Even from orbit, the flashes of impact could be seen.

-KOTOR-

Anaiya, Mission, Zaalbar and T3 watched in horror as Taris died around them. In the distance the turbolaser blasts rained down, destroying everything they hit. Artificial lakes were flash-boiled into steam in seconds. The glittering towers of the Upper City were torn to pieces, even the slightest grazing hit causing huge chunks of buildings to blow outward in fountains of superheated duracrete and twisted metal.

Dimly, Anaiya could hear screaming coming from all around her. She felt sick to her stomach, the death and destruction reverberating through the Force.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die…" Mission kept saying over and over again, staring around her in shock, her lekku limp, and her eyes wide. Zaalbar roared and pointed to the north. Anaiya glanced up but couldn't see anything because of the smoke.

"They aren't coming and we're all going to die," whispered Mission, sinking to her knees. T3 wailed mournfully. Anaiya knelt and hugged Mission to her, laying one hand on her head.

"They will come Mission, I can feel it. I can feel Matthias and Bastila coming."

And then she saw it. From out of the smoky haze, the _Ebon Hawk_ came soaring down to them. The freighter pulled up to the roof, boarding ramp extending. Standing on the ramp was Matthias, who waved at them and shouted, "Come on!"

Zaalbar roared again and grabbed Mission. Warbling a Wookie battle cry, he leapt across the roof edge and onto the ramp. Anaiya was right behind him, landing with the gracefulness of a cat. T3 shot fro the roof edge as fast as his wheels would take him and, at the last second, activated his jump thrusters. Meant to maneuver him in microgravity situations, they nonetheless helped give him the boost he needed to get over the edge… but not quite all the way onto the ramp. The little droid let out a wild electronic shriek as he felt himself slipping backwards. Matthias leaned forward and grasped T3 by his saucer-shaped head.

"I got ya little guy, hang on!"

Pulling the astromech fully onto the ramp, they both went charging back up it. Matthias slapped the hatch seal and then ran for the cockpit.

"Carth get us out of here!"

The _Ebon Hawk_'s engines roared and the freighter shot into the sky. Higher it went, passing out of the atmosphere.

The _Hawk_ continued its mad dash for freedom, speeding past the Sith cruisers that were busy directing fire at Taris and none of whose captains weren't fool enough to break rank for one small freighter.

"Plot a course for Dantooine," Bastila said to Carth, "There is a Jedi Enclave there where we can find sanctuary."

An alarm wailed. Carth glanced towards the sensors and swore under his breath.

"Incoming fighters, a whole squadron!"

"Get to the gun turrets!" shouted Bastila, "You have to hold those fighters off until we get the hyperspace coordinates punched in and we get out of Taris' gravity well!"

Matthias grabbed both Anaiya and Canderous on his way out of the cockpit to the aft control compartment behind the cockpit.

"Anaiya take the forward cannons. Canderous you take the missile launcher."

"I don't take orders from you!" said Canderous, but then sat down at the concussion missile launcher controls anyway. Matthias raced further back into the ship, through the main hold, past the infirmary and opposite that up a ladder to the _Ebon Hawk_'s large laser turret.

"Keep sharp, here they come!" said Anaiya's voice over the ships speakers.

Outside the ship, a full squad of twelve Sith starfighters dived down on the _Hawk_, laser cannons strobing. Matthias swung the _Hawk_'s turret around and let loose with ship's twin laser cannons. He destroyed one almost out of pure luck.

"I got one!"

"Great!" said Carth, "Don't get cocky, there's eleven more!"

"Picky, picky, picky," grumbled Matthias as he fired some more.

Any fighters that drifted in front of the _Hawk_, trying to get away from the turret, found themselves under fire from the fixed forward guns and the occasional missile. At last there was only one fighter left, which kept dodging all their combined efforts.

"We're ready for hyperspace. Kill that last fighter so we can get out of here!" said Anaiya. Matthias tried to get his crosshairs around the fighter, but it kept juking and weaving too much for him to get a lock

_Matthias, use the Force. Let go of your feelings and act on instinct._

"Bastila?"

_Let go Matthias._

Matthias drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt the rumbling of the ship as it was pounded with laser fire by the Sith fighter. He released the breath and opened his eyes. He swung the turret around as the fighter passed over the _Hawk_ and fired. The fighter detonated in an expanding fireball that quickly snuffed itself out in the airless vacuum of space.

"Yeehaw!" he cried.

"One of the Sith cruisers is coming after us," said Anaiya.

"Oh yeah? Let 'em catch this!" said Carth, pulling back on the hyperdrive motivator actuator. The _Ebon Hawk_'s engines glowed bright and then it leapt forward with a burst of acceleration, vanishing into the sea of stars.


	8. Going Out of Business

I'm remixing this story into a new form, so it'll be going down in a week. Thank you to all who read, reviewed and enjoyed this story.


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